The bone collector
An interview i did with Record Collector Magazine.. Mark McCausland is a guitarist/writer who lives in Omagh. If he is known at all, it is for his work as one half of The Lost Brothers, who have released 6 albums to date. He was also the lead guitarist in The Basement, who were signed […]
Blind Blake’s grave, Milwaukee
Dear Mark. Listen! Spent my entire shift, a little over six and a half hours, listening to the complete recordings of Blind Blake. Listened to the last CD twice, which included his final recording session up in Grafton, Wisconsin. Please make a pilgrimage to his gravesite, if you can manage it. I understand how tight […]
a note from jolie holland
This week’s very special guest columnist comes all the way from Houston Texas, via Los Angeles and everywhere in between. Jolie Holland is her name and if you don’t already know her music then you should go dust off the record player and immediately purchase a copy of her album Escondida. You need her music […]
78s
Here we are again with another hack piece. Straight from brain to paper. Who knows where we’ll end up this time. Let’s begin with what’s sitting on the table in front of me and take it from there. Im currently sifting through a handful of blues 78s I got handed recently. Among them are some […]
Diary entry: Christmas
Had a nightmare that the world was ending. Woke up in a pool of > sweat. Grabbed phone and looked at social media. Felt inadequate. > Put phone down and stared at the ceiling for half an hour. Got out > of bed and washed. Saw myself in the mirror and wished I was > […]
Inner Flame
WORDS: Howe Gelb. <><><><><><><><> I was 19. Still impressionable. Living in Tucson. 1976. A good decade & age to allow the usefulness of psychedelics. It was also a time of great emptiness. It was more than possible to head out to the forest of giant saguaro ( which were only minutes away ) […]
It’s alive
And now here we are. The world of the Boneyard is crossing over into reality. Merging into the same space and time as the rest of the world. It can’t be contained any longer. It’s bursting out of its cage, like a demented animal. What’s real? I am merely an observer, witnessing scenes that I […]
all you need is love
Chris asked me what this weeks column would be about, as he was about to start his sketch. I wasn’t quite sure. Had my well run dry? Or was I just being lazy? I had received an essay from Jolie holland a few nights prior, and wasn’t sure if it was intended for the boneyard […]
BAND OBITUARY
Obituary. The Basement, band. (1997-2007). Members: John Mullin (35), Mark McKowski, Declan McManus, Graham Hassle. Formed in the halls of st. Patricks High School, Omagh before moving on to the glamorous surroundings of Johnny lomax’s garage, they honed their “craft” to a semi-tolerable racket. Ambitions were high. Outlook however remained bleek. They moved to Liverpool, […]
Horrible advice
Mark McKowski & Nick Power A dash of good. A dash of evil. That’s the balance. Right there. A tightrope. When it could fall either way at any moment. There is a balancing act. With everything. Music. Art. Film. Whatever. It’s all water from the same well. It just depends how you scoop it up. […]
Awkward but social