Its no secret or surprise that Famous Groupies are BIG, BIG, BIG fans of that BIG, BIG, BIG band known as XTC. I sometimes refer to them as 'the other Beatles'. I could gush for hours over Andy and Colin's brilliant songwriting, massive creativity and masterful playing, but right now I would like to gush over and give praise to the genius of the third member of said band, Mr. Dave Gregory.

Dave has been one of my very favourite guitarists since I first heard his playing on the album "Skylarking". From there I explored the XTC catalogue (Oranges and Lemons, Big Express, English Settlement, Non Such, and the rest) and I was overwhelmed by Dave's brilliant and at times unusual guitar chords and phrasings. Incredibly melodic and precise solos, always spot-on perfect, and don't get me started on those glorious guitar sounds/tones. He is clearly a wizard, head and shoulders above all other guitar players in the game.

And so, one day while reviewing the songs for Black Apple,  several songs struck me as having a sort signature that reminded me of XTC. I thought to myself, hmm, these songs would sound really, really great if Dave Gregory were to play on them. So I mustered up the courage,  rung him up and to me delight he was as nice as can be.  A true gentleman, incredibly generous of heart. I then sent him the first song, which he loved, then a second, then a third....etc. It was such a treat to work with Dave these past four months, and 9 or so songs later. Dave's guitar compositions and performances have truly elevated Black Apple to heights we could  have never reached on our own. We owe him a great debt for that. He has our gratitude and undying love.

The next single to be released will feature Dave Gregory on guitar, and its a real stunner too! Even Andy Partridge liked it! We hope you will too.  Keep an eye out for it.

Cheers to Dave!


KM and Famous Groupies

There are oranges and lemons everywhere....

As we near completion and release of our new and final album, we wondered if our record was really that much longer than other loooong albums. We couldn't help our selves, we had to find out. And so, this is what we found.

There is actually a band that released an album with 1000 micro tracks. Insane, right? Now, because of the limitations of vinyl, it can only hold so much information -as they are but one size- and that goes for CD as well. But of course, digital albums can be infinite in length.  So we compared our album to the Beatles White Album, Consisting of 30 tracks clocking in at over 93 minutes altogether, The White Album is The Beatles' longest by a significant margin.

There are actually quite a few classic rock albums that surpass the 90 minute mark, so that isn't too special I suppose. But, how many are longer than those longer rock albums? Well, lets take a look. Not too many classic rock albums go beyond the 93 minute mark, but a few from the 1990s do. For instance, The Smashing Pumpkins released Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, which was over 2 hours and 8 minutes. Most impressive. And there are other known an lessor known bands that also come in around that mark..and even longer. Such as Swans, Dream Theater, and even The Clash with their Sandinista! , which boasts an impressive 2 hours, 24 minutes and 9 seconds.

We may not beat The Clash, but our Black album beats the infamous White album by A LOT. I won't say how much longer ours is, but baby, we got length.

As we say so long to 2023, we raise our glasses to 2024 with hopes that it may be a real banger!

We lost some great musicians this year, and we will celebrate them all for always.
Jim Jordan (Derek and The Dominos)
Bobby Caldwell
Jeff Beck
Dennis Budimir (The Wrecking Crew)
Johnny Powers
David Crosby
Anthony Topham (The Yardbirds)
Burt Bacharach
Gary Rossington
Ian Bairnson (Pilot, Alan Parsons Project)
Harry Belafonte
Gordon Lightfoot
Chas Newby (The Beatles, The Quarrymen)
Tina Turner
Tony Bennett
Sinead O'Conner
Randy Meisner (The Eagles, Poco)
John Gosling (The Kinks)
Robbie Robertson
Gary Wright
Dwight Twilley
Myles Goodwnn (April Wine)
Jeffrey Foskett (Brian Wilson, Beach Boys)
Tommy Smothers
And of course, the great Denny Laine...

We wish you all a Happy New Year.
2024 will be the year of The Black Apple

For those of you who live in or order music from Japan, it appears that the mighty Disk Union has a few copies of our Furry White Album (on CD) for sale. Order online or buy in store. Also, its always such a lovely thing to see our music sold along side new Beatles records. What year is this, 1969? Pinch me.

Imagine a discrete, decadent little meeting place, tucked away in the heart of Mayfair; a place with thick wooden doors, beyond which can be found stairs that lead down beneath street level and into the very heart of hedonistic, 1960's London.

The Scotch Of St. James was such a place, and Patrick McKenzie would frequent it often. During his time as a ghostwriter for London Decca, right about 1965, The Scotch opened its doors to the swinging mods of the day. By all accounts it was a "happening" place. Celebrities would come and go, folks like The Beatles, The Stones, The Who, and The Hollies would often stop by, and occasionally you would see a young Paul McCartney seated with a friend or two in the back. I can't be sure if Patrick ever shared a table with Macca, but it was around that time that they would be introduced. So I can easily imagine they did. I wonder what they talked about? What was their preferred drink?

It was at 'The Scotch' that an unkempt musician played for the first time ever under the stage name 'Jimi Hendrix'. Clapton was discovered there by the head of Atlantic Records. And it was the very spot where Paul McCartney first met Stevie Wonder.

Yes, The Scotch was a very special place indeed. In truth, I had never heard of the place until I came across one of Patrick's songs - aptly titled 'The Scotch of St. James'. After reading his lyrics I had to investigate, and once I learned all that I could, I understood the significance and the history -especially as it was part of Patrick's history. Its a beautiful piece about young love, navigating swinging London, and of course...music and fashion. Pop culture rings like a bell with this one, and so it is my great pleasure to release this song come October.

I think that once you hear it, you too will gain much insight into the goings on of a very young Patrick McKenzie as he takes on the world.

KM

It's time to shine some light onto the brilliant and talented Rosie! Not only is she a superstar for Famous Groupies, Rosie Abbott McKenzie has been making music long before Famous Groupies came to be. Last year she married our very own Gavin McKenzie and she was formerly inducted into the McKenzie family (and we could not be more thrilled!).  Rosie has been releasing her brilliant music for sometime now, and her albums can be found here --> Bandcamp               

I encourage you to sample her latest release, Magnified. It truly is otherworldly. And get this, Rosie plays every single instrument on that album. Every. Single. Instrument! She does it all ....vocals, piano, guitars, drums, violin....you name it and she plays it. Her songs are eclectic, thought provoking, melodic, magical creations. Every one of her albums is a sonic picnic on a summery day.

We are so lucky to have her as a Famous Groupies bandmate, and we look forward to making more music with her soon. Ah, but the best news is that she is currently writing and recording a new album as I write this. We look forward to that release sometime in the near future.

Lets raise a glass to you, Rosie!  Cheers!
And thank you for all the great music that you give to this world.