I’m pushed for time, so just a quick mini update…

Firstly, ‘Domesticated Vol.2’ is out on Friday 13^th October and is already up for pre-order at the Earth Island Books website here.  158 pages, colour illustrations, and a bunch of photos too!  Here’s what some amazing people say(taken from the back cover blurb):

DICK LUCAS (SUBHUMANS, CULTURE SHOCK, CITIZEN FISH):

“A unique collection of poetic ventures into the human condition, with humour, anger, and a canny use of language: inspired and inspiring!” 

MARK GRIST (MULTI-AWARD-WINNING POET & BATTLE RAPPER):

“Words that bite, belch, and bleed in their brilliance” 

NATHAN BROWN (LOUDER THAN WAR):

“A sardonic, sarcastic wit, a penchant for the surreal, and a dynamic pace” 

ATTILA THE STOCKBROKER (SOCIAL SURREALIST POET AND SONGWRITER):

“Relentless”

Can’t argue with any of that!  Haha!

Secondly, I’m doing Word Habit in Sudbury on Sunday afternoon.  Six poets – including me, naturally – all styles, and all great at what they do.  The headliner is Mary Dickins from London, who’s been featured in The Guardian and whose book sits in the NHS' Top Ten Books for Wellness list. 

Other performers are Sam Marsh (you may know him from the Nirvana-supporting JACOB’s MOUSE, THE MACHISMO’s, or Bury St Edmunds hardcore legends, VOLUNTEERS), Amy Wragg of Get Off The Soapbox fame, Ricci Read of Poetry @Patch in Colchester, and Jackie Montague who has written for BBC New Comedy (Radio Norfolk and Suffolk).

It’s gonna be a great afternoon in the pub with great words and also booze, so come on down if you can if you’re local-ish (train station is just round the corner!).

Later.

JD

Hi, super-quick update….

You may have seen that had a short slot at an event that was part of Hastings Book Festival.  It was an evening hosted by Henry Normal - producer/writer/script editor etc. for a lot of Baby Cow productions (e.g. The Mrs Merton Show, The Mighty Boosh, Gavin & Stacey, Alan Partridge etc.) as well as an excellent poet. Here's the video evidence:

And just a reminder that I'm on in Great Yarmouth next Saturday (30th) with a  bunch of cool bands.  That's at Colossal Youth, King Street, Great Yarmouth, NR30 2PA.  Kick off about 7 I think. See you there!

Also…new book coming soon!

Alright All,

Just a quick weekend update:

Cheers to any if you that came out for the Bank Holiday Reggae & Ska event on Sunday – it was wicked, as usual!

Here are a couple of new videos from the spoken word set at Colchester Arts Centre on Tuesday (‘The Pensioner Orgy’ and ‘Arsehole Man!’).

Next spoken word gig is 13^th September in Leigh, Essex, where I’m the guest poet for the night.  I’m also in Hastings at some point in September (details TBC) and then Great Yarmouth with 3 bands – see pic – on the 30th. For all gig details go here. 

There’s a new – and, I must say, excellent review of ‘Domesticated Vol.1’ from Thought Words Action.  You can still get one here or at Earth Island Books.

That’s it for now. Have a great weekend.

James

Hi All,

August already!  Woah!

Just a quick update on activities as I’m not around much for the next couple of weeks. 

On the August bank holiday Sunday, I’ll be doing my annual reggae and ska event at The Brewery Tap, Sudbury.  Always such a great afternoon!

The new PI$$ER LP should be going to press later this month (it’s called Too Busy Eating Gruel to Contemplate the Cosmos).  That’ll appear later in the year on Scene Report Records, although you’ll be able to pick some up directly from me at Kibou Records.

I’ve got a bunch of spoken word/poetry dates coming up too.  The next being at Colchester Arts Centre as part of the Mary-Ann & Mates Emotional Madness night.  I’ve not been able to attend this event up to now (constant diary clashes), but have heard good reports, so looking forward to it. I then have others in Leigh-on-Sea, Gt. Yarmouth, Sudbury, Hastings etc. – check here for details.

That’s it for now as I have a busy day ahead. 

Don’t forget, you can get the latest book here, here, or here.

And the new LP/CD from The Domestics (and related merch) you can get here.

Cheers

James

PS - check out the Kibou Records YouTube channel for some new videos (some live poetry, and a couple of videos of The Domestics playing in Belgium a few years back)…and please subscribe. ;-) 

Holy shit!  June already!  Just…how the hell did that happen?!?!?  Still, I can’t complain; it’s sunny and that is a welcome reprieve from my S.A.D. symptoms.

Anyway, a few things to update you on:

1. The new THE DOMESTICS album – East Anglian Hardcore - has been officially out around 10 days now (cheers to those of you that have already picked up a copy or a vinyl/CD/t-shirt bundle).  If you want the white vinyl version, you’d better be quick as we’re down to the final box. Still a reasonable amount left on black though.  Been getting some nice reviews too, which I’ll add to the reviews section of this site when I get a moment. Check it all out here.
2. Still on the subject of THE DOMESTICS, I’m sad to report that we’ve had to cancel every single gig we had booked this year, and we’ll not be playing live again until around March 2024.  I’m not typing it all up again here, so take a look at our Facebook if you’re looking for details (and thanks for the nice messages you’ve sent to the band on there; it’s much appreciated) 
3. The new PI$$ER record, Too Busy Eating Gruel to Contemplate the Cosmos, is at the mixing stage…PI$$ER mixing always takes a while, as there’s a lot going on (more so than previously on this one…I can’t wait for you to hear it!!!!)
4. Have started taking a few bookings for live poetry reading slots.  If you fancy me doing some of that at your poetry event or between bands at gigs, or whatever.  Give me a shout.  Just added some videos of some stuff I did in Colchester on Friday (Yes, I’ve definitely added some (more) timber…trying to shift it right now!) to the Kibou Records YouTube Channel.   Here's one to be getting on with - a work in progress…oh, and I'm on the lineup at Patch Café in Colchester, Essex, on Wednesday 26th July (see poster below).

OK, that’s all for now. Laters.

James

Hello All,

Just a quick update on a few bits:

1.  After passport issues for Charlie, hotel issues, Covid issues with Matt, getting stuck behind a hearse, dying phones, and many other things conspiring against us, PI$$ER started making our new record last week in Bristol. It's called Too Busy Eating Gruel to Contemplate the Cosmos, and I guess it'll be out later this year. Drums, bass and sax all done, guitars and other bits real soon.
2. My ‘Domesticated Vol.1’ book has been picking up some cool reviews with comparisons to John Cooper Clarke, Spike Milligan, Ivor Cutler, and Benjamin Zephaniah so far.  You can grab one here from Earth Island Books, or if you're local maybe hit me up and save on postage, as I have a few copies.
3. Pre-orders for THE DOMESTICS new LP/CD have been flying in - cheers to those of you that have grabbed one already - official release date is 1st June.  Probably wouldn't hang around too much longer if you want a copy on white vinyl if I were you.  Also check out the £ saving bundles…all this stuff here.

OK, that's all for now!

JD

PS:  Don't forget that by picking up any of the ‘East Anglian Hardcore’ album stuff (vinyl, t-shirt, CD, patch) you get entry into the prize draw to win a cool 7" (8 copies only!!!!). One entry ticket per item…so go for a bundle, why dontcha! ;-)

Woah!  Second mailout in a week (don’t worry this ain’t going to become a habit)! 

But, as you will have hopefully seen already, my new book, Domesticated Vol.1 is available on pre-order now from Earth Island Books here. You should get one; you might like it! 

AND…DRUM ROLL……

New The Domestics Album: ‘East Anglian Hardcore’

The long-awaited new album from The Domestics is up for pre-order from TODAY!!!  It’s called ‘East Anglian Hardcore’* and you can get it on vinyl (black or white) or CD.  The CD version also has our previous album, ‘Cherry Blossom Life’ on it, as that’s only ever been released on vinyl and is sold out anyway.  The vinyl version of the album comes with a 16 page A4 lyric/artwork book, which also includes the chords to all the songs…I (eagerly?) await a tidal wave of cover versions – HA! 

New 'East Anglian Hardcore' T Shirts 

There are also new t-shirts (again, black or white), with the album cover artwork on the front and a cool new backprint on the, er, back. 

New ‘East Anglian Hardcore’ Patches 

Not only that, but there’s a new ‘long’ patch which will look great on your jacket, or anywhere else you care to put it.  Only £2.50 (and with free postage if ordered with anything else!). 

Fun Competition! Win a 7”! 

FINALLY, there’s a fun competition draw to win one of just 8 (yes, you read that right! EIGHT!) 7”s.  You get one entry ticket into the prize draw for each CD or vinyl copy of ‘East Anglian Hardcore’, or ‘East Anglian Hardcore’ t-shirt you order during the pre-order period. 1 item = 1 ticket, 2 items = 2 tickets, 3 items = 3 tickets etc. – as many as you want! The one caveat is that once your name is pulled out of the hat and you’ve won a copy of the 7”, that’s it – you can only win ONE of the 8 7”s.  This seems fair and gives people a chance to win one. It’s a bit of fun; let’s not be dicks about it.  

OK, that’s enough for now.  Go and get some East Anglian Hardcore goodness into your lives! 

*It's the best thing we've ever done.  Of course, I would say that.  But it is!

Evenin’!

Just an update on a new thing seeing the light of day very shortly, and which I'm very excited about!

I have a book called Domesticated Vol.1 up for pre-order RIGHT NOW! 

It’s published by the excellent Earth Island Books, home of writers such as Ian Glasper (that whole series of books on different eras of UK punk are great; absolutely recommended if that’s of interest subject-wise), Tim Cundle (I recently read his ‘Compression’ novel, and an enjoyable read it was too), Welly Artcore (of Artcore fanzine infamy), Alex CF  (from the band, Fall of Efrafa), and David Gamage (ex-Couch Potatoes, Joeyfat, and Rydell) amongst many others.

Anyway, I think my book is an entertaining read.  It’s a bit of a scrapbook really, there are words, there are photos from gigs and tours, there are illustrations.  Some is angry, some humorous.  It’s definitely tapping into my inner ‘bastard offspring of John Cooper Clarke and Ivor Cutler’ and I couldn’t be happier with how it’s turned out to be honest!

You can find out more, and order one here for the princely sum of just £9.99. Would be good if you did as I’m already working on a follow up, and if no one buys Vol.1, Vol.2 probably won’t get published! HAHA!

Anyway, hope you grab one and enjoy it. Earth Island are a really cool independent publisher and absolutely deserve a bit of your hard-earned.

Until next time.

Laters taters!

J

Mornin’! 

Today (18th) sees the start of a pre-order for a new limited edition 12".  It's a 5 song (21 minute) mini album by Domestic Curse, which is me and John Hewson (AKA Curse). The record is officially out on 30th November, so will likely be shipped around the 28th-ish. 

We've known each other for years as our respective bands have played together in the past, and finally our slow burner of a collaboration has come to pass on lovely shiny black vinyl, and it's called The Five Curses. 

This is what it says on the Kibou Records website: 

"Musically, we’re in electronic overload…think throbbing, whirring, and rattling synths, thumping kick drums, skeletal drum ‘n’ bass, chest-thumpin’ bottom end, and raw punk vocals in a long-form almost-stream-of-consciousness style; sneering and barbed.  

Lyrical targets include perpetual timewasters, thick-as-shit fascists, mid-life crisis melts, coked-up estate agents, serial exaggerators, and a culture that sees us annihilate ourselves on the regular as a means of fleeting escape.  All get a full-on verbal tongue-lashing. 

Dirty squatted warehouse music for clued up punks. Crank it waaaaaay up, ya cunts!" 

As far as I'm concerned, it's as punk as fuck and I'm so pleased with how it's turned out.  We've been working on these songs for several years on and off (in fairness probably more "off" than "on" as various major life events halted progress for many months, many times). 

Please grab a copy of the record here, here, or here. 

There's also a video for one of the songs, Marching On, here:

The 12" is also available from: 

Cimex Records (Sweden) 

Guerilla Vinyl (France) 

Autonomonster Records (UK) 

Charlie's Big Raygun Records (UK)

OK, I thought it was about time I did a super-quick update on activities: 

Well, last night I was on BBC Essex talking about a new poem. I’d had a message from them asking me to submit something, so I did a little endangered species/time travel piece called Your Grandkids Won’t Believe You.  I’ve just this minute added to the Kibou Records YouTube channel, you can check it out below, and listen to the radio show here (I’m on about at around 1:46/1:47ish if you're pushed for time). 

I also recently did a longer interview with Tim Cundle on the Mass Movement Presents… radio show, which was a lot of fun, and you can listen to it on catchup here. 

Oh, and I also did a nice little interview about the 'Cruor' book I did with Dave Cullern, and a bunch of other stuff with The Screever magazine – you can read that here. 

Finally, the Punks Listen book is out now, to which I was honoured to be asked to contribute alongside legends like Tim Burgess, Henry Rollins, Dick Lucas, Tim Pope, Viv Godard, and many many more.  All proceeds from the book go to support the efforts of The Red Cross helping refugees from war torn Ukraine.  It's a great read that I think any music fan would enjoy (and despite the title, it's not all about punk per se). Anyway, more info and purchase details from the Hope Collective Ireland here or Earth Island Books here.

New about the Domestic Curse 12” coming in a few weeks…