From Jason Pettigrew:
“As a member of Public Image Limited, Martin Atkins built his reputation as a driving post-punk architect on the 1981 album, The Flowers Of Romance. Now, for one weekend only—April 10 & 11—Atkins and acclaimed singer/songwriter Chris Connelly present Flowers Of Romance Revisited, a performance celebrating the 45th anniversary of what is clearly one of the most confounding, uncompromising and fascinating statements made in the realm of underground music.
In addition to the original album’s nine tracks, the duo (assisted by a bevy of like minded Chicago talents Orville Kline, Alicia Gaines, Leyla Royale, Alan Lake, Robert Byrne) will be performing songs that didn’t make it onto the final version of the album (the b-side “Home Is Where The Heart Is” and “Vampire”). Rest assured that Connelly’s dynamic vocal prowess and Atkins’ indefatigable hammering will exalt the source material in all the best ways.
The first private presentation will be at PPIM on Friday April 10th.The public show is at Reggies on April 11th with VIP and Ultra VIP ticketing.
Flowers Of Romance Revisited will be a three-pronged weekend event of fascinating backstory, wondrous discovery and fearless post-punk extremity. Whether you’re a longtime fan or currently embracing the historic post-punk ethos that’s far and away from today’s committee-written pop music complex, this is an event to be experienced in all its coruscating madness.”
The above is from Jason Pettigrew. I sat with him during his last visit to Chicago down in the Museum studio, listened to some of the lost tracks in my archives and wondered what might have been. I think that was the beginning of this event. I need to be careful with these anniversaries – Pigface is 35 this year and The Damage Manual turns 25.
These deep dives into iconic moments are emotionally fueling for me, and the stories that they precipitate are so rewarding. Did you know that Flowers was on Kurt Cobain’s top 50 albums list? I can’t describe seeing the name of the album in his own scratch handwriting. The name of the album comes from a band that Sid Vicious had with Keith Levene.
Chris Connelly sent me this memory:
“Purchased around the time of release at John Menzies, Princes Street, Edinburgh, for me the album was of its time coming around the time of a massive move towards percussion based music à la THE SLITS and THE POP GROUP. It sounded obtuse, non-linear compared to Metal Box, and gone was the reggae influence, replaced with a much more African influence (to my ears anyway), with an extension of John’s chanting from Metal Box which became more of a focus. The single was compelling, too brief, but that was part of the attraction – veiled self-reference in “Banging The Door” to the first PiL single, the paranoia and irony of celebrity – I caught it all on first listen.”
The first rehearsal was yesterday at the Museum (man I LOVE that we do that). We even banged on some Test Department instrumentation. This old body is suffering today a little bit, but how wonderful it feels. To congregate with people, make music, bang on things and poke myself in the head.
Tickets are below (and going fast !) and the posters look so cool! Thanks Shani and Tronnie!
Video: Martin Atkins sharing Albini Demos and Live Beginnings Vinyl – now shipping!
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Albini Demos and Live Beginnings on Vinyl
Now Shipping!
The Albini Demos and Live Beginnings Vinyl have finally arrived and are ready to ship! Check out Martin’s unboxing video (above) for a full preview!
We’ve merged forces with Overdrive Recordings in Italy to bring you a special vinyl edition of “The Albini Demos and Live Beginnings ’88”, a raw, essential and indispensable testimony of an era that defined Killing Joke’s history. On one side you will find the ‘origins’ with the demo sessions, mixed by Steve Albini, where essential ideas of Killing Joke‘s sound were born. The legendary ‘Black Cassette’ contained these demos!
On the other side there’s a true rarity Excerpts from Martin Atkin’s very first show with the band at Burberries in Birmingham on Dec 20th 1988! That night saw the live debut of Extremities, The Fanatic, Intravenous, Beautiful Dead. A piece of history that would have defined a new era for the band. Pressed on red vinyl. Please limit your vinyl order to 2 copies!
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REBUILDING ANTI-TANK GUITAR
created by Matt Schultz (Lab Report, Pigface)
THANK YOU for your support so far! The Kickstarter getting closer!
Some of you may remember when Matt Schultz first created the Anti Tank Guitar in 1990. In Matt’s own words, “The ATG was not a novelty or a prop. It was a purpose-built instrument designed to generate extreme textures, low-frequency mass, and mechanical resonance that traditional guitars could not produce. That sound became a core sonic element of Lab Report and was used with Pigface. It shaped the dark ambient, industrial, and gothic landscapes. The ATG appeared on more than nine albums and helped define a very specific era of experimental music.”
“This project is about rebuilding the ATG from the ground up, matching the original design, materials, and intent as closely as possible. It is about preservation, reconstruction, and honoring a lost instrument that helped shape a genre. This project is not about nostalgia. It is about restoring a missing piece of industrial music history and letting that sound exist again, in the place where its story belongs.”
If the Kickstarter goal is achieved, we will be having an intimate event at PPIM featuring the ATG and special visuals presented by Tristan Rudat! One of the tiers on the Kickstarter gets you a free admission to the event – check out the full details on the ATG and donate to it’s recreation below!
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UPCOMING EVENTS AT PPIM
This week, Martin is in Chicago on Spring Break from Millikin, so we’re hosting a week-day tour Wednesday, March 18! We’re also very excited to announce 2 events with Curse Mackey in May – come hear a special reading from his new book Saturday May 9, then catch a guest (mis)guided tour with him on Sunday! You can find all the upcoming event details on our event page, linked below.
Stay tuned for updates on a very special Bespoke Listening Event with specially designed engineering monitors, Flowers of Romance Revisited in April, the return of the Anti-Tank Guitar in June, and so much more!
Don’t forget, you can always book a Private VIP Tour HERE, or the Ultra VIP Tour HERE.
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