01-1994 / Friends Of The Pastels Newsletter / Japandemonium (1/3)

Pastelism life is currently dominated by studio venturing and pre-studio venture preparation. We are very thorough and have so far recorded 4 'up and on the beat' backing tracks and 3 other tracks with most of us, for an unspecified project somewhere between The Pastels and Melody Dog - although that is only a partially satisfactory description for these Olympic World standart recordings. The, a couple of days ago we recorded Teenage Fanclub's Guiding Star with Katrina grabbing the limelight with her amazing lead vocal, while me, Aggi and Gerry Love provided a throbbing pulse wich Katrina is of course in on. This track is for a benefit Lp in aid of The Women's Refuge and will be on Garden Of Delights label. Realistically our new lp will be there in May as we are recording in stages which is less decadent.

It goes without saying that we are very busy and that's why it's taken so long to get Friends of the Pastels organised and it's also why we are taking longer to reply to letters. Don't worry, we will be back on top of eevrything soon. Pamfletti replaces Pastelism magazine, and because it is a more spontaneous thing, it will hopefully be more frequent. Our main priority tho. Is to get more records out there so please bear with us - our lives are complicated and our ingenuity is always being tested in surprising new ways.

With Pastels pal Dave Barker leaving Creation, and with August disappearing after the new Eugenius lp, I suppose our label situ. Is cloudy although we are contracted to Creation and they are at the moment paying for our lp. Dave will inevitably bounce back and he is already talking about resurrecting Seminal Twang with the Clydesmen lp which features the original version of Kylie's Got A Crush On Us. Doubtless S. Twang will provide some hot competition for L. Bell's ascending Domino label - no coincidence that both Dave and Laurence are Friends of the Pastels ! Upcoming on Domino is a new Sebadoh lp, Royal Trux's totally out there lo-fi 'Twin Infinitives' and singles from Guided By Voices and Pastelism tip, Policecat.

In the wider world, Aggi and I had the rare pleasure of meeting a top entertainer at BBC Scotland's New Year shinding. Mr Superbad is his name and in case you don't know, he had the hot soul show in Scotland for most of the 70's. He has also worked with quite a few choice names like Barry White and Curtis Mayfield. Apparently we are more laid back than both, as Mr Superbad kept telling me inbetween his on-air lo-yo sex rapping over some late 70's funk tracks. He's quite a charmer and he told me it was fated that we would meet. So next time I'm whining about the pathetic world of indie, we'll just up and join Mr Superbad's Soul Revue which I believe is currently transforming Condorrat, Cumbernauld into the new Memphis. He can no doubt supply the sunshine too.

Thank You For Being You in 1993, The Pastels had a pretty great year and you were there. Truckload of Trouble, Japan, Reading Festival, the shows with Stereolab, and the in-stores at Rough Trade and Avalanche shops were all special for us. Also in case you don't know, our speedway side, the Glasgow Tigers won the league and cup double, and the man who rides every rough bend for Pastelism, David Walsh starred.

Yours Friends.
S. Pastel