Martin Atkins of Pigface, Public Image Ltd and Killing Joke, among many others, was born on this day, August 3rd, in 1959. I’ve interviewed Martin a few times in my career and he is such a character; so very candid and full of great road stories! Here’s a Link to and interview we did together from way back in 2003! Happy Birthday, Martin!
October 20, 2007 FRANCE – Ministry’s bassist Paul Raven was found dead today in a private home in a small French village on the Swiss border. Initial reports indicate Raven’s passing was due to a heart attack. Raven (known also for his work with Killing Joke, Prong) was in Geneva working with French recording artists Treponem Pal on their new release, with Marco Neves, Ted Parsons (Prong) and members of The Young Gods.
Continue reading Ministry Bassist Paul Raven Dies of Heart Attack in Geneva
Gail, you simply fucking rock! I love your piece for my book (Tour: Smart) in the section on Press and Publicity – your “Pet Peeves and How to Avoid Them” shreds any fence sitting and bestows some priceless advice – THANKS!
I have conducted and written about a gazillion interviews in my career, and most have turned out really good or great, not just thanks to my extreme talent but also to my good fortune at being able to interview some of the most verbose and charismatic figures in rock music. Somebody who’s always an amazing interview is Martin Atkins: drummer, label owner, entrepreneur and mastermind behind the revolving line-up underground supergroup, Pigface. Martin is the shit. Fortunately for all you struggling musicians out there, Martin has just written the definitive insiders’ book on touring tips for bands, entitled Tour: Smart. I was quite flattered to be among the 150 or so music industry luminaries that Martin solicited for input to be included in the book. Of course, I was thrilled to oblige.
My contribution to Tour: Smart centers on interviews, mistakes musicians make when approaching interviews, how bad that pisses me off and what you can do to avoid my wrath. You will probably really enjoy reading that section, because I name names and use a lot of swear words. Tour: Smart should be released this summer, and is a guaranteed must-read.