coxy's blog

2 years. That's how long it's been since one of my favourite bands released any form of music to the public. In fact, it could well be longer. It was worth the wait though, and Encyclopedia (the band, not the book) has changed a lot in that time.

Benjamin Wood and Oliver Herdsman started Encyclopedia in 2004 and the Yeovil duo could be found playing local bars, pubs and venues throughout the United Kingdom with a Creative MP3 player as a backing track. If you hang out in the same haunts as I do, you can ask people about Encyclopedia and many will tell you their fond memories of the upbeat synth-based sounds of the band, most of which can be heard on their debut album 'So Hot Right Now'.

Fast-forward to 2009, and you'll find that there are five people in Encyclopedia - that's potentially two and a half times more rock 'n' roll. With the arrival of Adam Clements, Nick Jacobs and Sébastien Renaud - and the death of the Creative MP3 player - you'll hear a new sound in their latest single 'Hilary'.

"I wrote the A Side ['Hilary'] on a train ride home from my last gig with the band Tellison, last October. I knew when I first played it to Sebastien it was gonna be a rocker." tells Benjamin Wood - giving a little insight of the wizardry that goes into making an Encyclopedia hit.

"It's a song about love at first sight, being in Tellison and my dislike for the NME. There are also notable mentions for Yeovil Town goalkeeper Josh Wagenaar and Somerset's finest export, Burrow Hill cider. We're releasing this single on our own T-shirt Records label and have spent the past few weeks hand making, crafting, cutting, sewing, stapling 300 limited edition covers, for 300 limited edition 7" black vinyl records."

As with every Encyclopedia production, lots of effort has gone into the release. Buying a physical copy of the single, you don't just receive the music - each set includes the record in a custom made and hand-crafted sleeve, a booklet with the guitar tablature, lyrics to the A Side and one of 300 red Encyclopedia picks. Oh, and a B Side, MP3 versions and a third track.

"Inside the booklet you also get a code which scores you a free download of both tracks, plus a bonus track called 'Hello' recorded during the same sessions. The B Side is a re-recording of the track 'Get A Drummer'. You've probably already heard a couple of versions of this song, both not quite doing it. Well this time it does do it, I can assure you. It's about big record deals and "making it", two things I lost interest in long ago."

'Hilary' is due for release on the 27th July 2009 and is available on Limited Edition 7" Single from the official Encyclopedia Store and also as a high-quality digital download from Bandcamp. You can stream the single for free at Bandcamp, Last.fm and thesixtyone

In 1978, director Martin Scorsese turned his camera on his friend and roommate, Steven Prince, creating the documentary 'American Boy'. Prince was best known for his role as the gun salesman in 'Taxi Driver', but to many was a true-life raconteur, actor, ex-drug addict, and road manager for Neil Diamond.

To Scorsese, Steven's life was more fascinating than what any screenwriter could dream up, it had to be captured in celluloid, and 'American Boy' did just that and became somewhat of a cult documentary amongst notable directors and movie-types - so much so that Quentin Tarantino based a famous scene from 'Pulp Fiction' on a story Prince had told of during the recording.

Three decades later, filmmaker and producer of 'A Scanner Darkly', Tommy Pallotta draws out Steven Prince to recount his days since 'American Boy' and to compose the next chapter of his story under the guise of a new documentary 'American Prince'.

'American Prince' has been legally made available to download for free via mininova.org

Last night was a really nice evening so, instead of hanging around the house and playing games all night, I decided to take my camera onto Urmston Meadows and along the Trans Pennine Trail.

It was really quiet - there weren't too many people around last night. I must've walked from around 7pm to 10.30pm. With it being summer, the nights stay light until late, and it's great for taking a stroll.

You can see some photos in the 'Trans Pennine Trail' photo album. I can't say there's anything particularly interesting in there, unless you're into long grass, close-ups of plants and insects fornicating.