The Chameleons, live @ The Crauford Arms, Milton Keynes, 28 July, 2016

Spellbinding gig in a small city - just a couple of photos of Mark Burgess for now, still need to write up my thoughts!

Station Records opening, The Buszy, Milton Keynes, 29th June, 2013

 

I went along for the opening day of a new weekly Saturday record stall in the new community venue, The Buszy. There hasn't been an independent record shop in Milton Keynes since Fish Music closed down at in the last decade, so I was really stoked to see Station Records happening in my hometown!

 

The premises used to be the bus station, and bus drivers' caff! Now a charity project has been installed here, it has all been smartened up, with fancy chairs, lovely café area, dedicated staff, charity shop, plus so many classes and events going on for young people.

 

 

Of course I had to go along and get involved and show support for this ace venture. Monies raised from Station Records' weekly record shop go towards the youth charity Make a Difference (M.A.D). I had cycled along with some vinyl donations and brought a selection of mine and others' zines, which Warren of Station Records kindly agreed to have on sale. The All Thrills No Frills Music Bill is on sale on the stall weekly, including one of our most recent issues, which comprises my musical memories of Milton Keynes - venues, gigs, clubs that have long gone, buying my first guitar, etc etc. Here are all the zines:

I met one of the youth workers and had a really good chat about what they do at Buszy for the kids. Loved hearing that some of the kids have been making fanzines! It was really fun to talk to Warren about 'zines - we have both made zines Milton Keynes. His was more recent, within the last decade, and it was called New Pollution. Nice to be given a couple of issues to check out.

 

 

So much vinyl on sale! Cassettes and books too.

 

I was ecstatic to unearth a copy of Ceremony by New Order, on 12", and I bought a few other records too. It's clear that Warren is passionate about record selling, there's a wide range of genres and eras covered, and people were enjoying having a browse as the DJ played. It felt like a really positive community event, nice and relaxed Saturday afternoon, and the free samples of cake and sandwiches was very welcome too!

 

The thrift shop was something of a wonder too. I had a good look around - interesting clothes, books, records, ornaments, etc. Go and visit, or follow them on Twitter.

 

 

 

The Buszy is situated right opposite Milton Keynes train station, so it's convenient to visit if you're coming from a nearby town. If you're local to MK, it's not that much of a walk from the shopping centres and it's a much quieter part of the city, so it's nice to visit.

 

 

There is a bar with a patio, and there are various other music events going on, like Warren's Moments in Wax nights, where there's a vinyl album night and sometimes live acoustic acts upstairs. MK definitely needs more live music! If you're in a band or are a solo artist, you should think about coming here to play one of the nights. The venue's also available to hire for events.

The Buszy
401 Elder Gate
Central Milton Keynes
MK9 1LR, UK.

01908 231312

http://www.thebuszy.com/

New mini issue of The All Thrills No Frills Music Bill out now!

New mini print issue of The All Thrills No Frills Music Bill is now ready to go! It is a special about Milton Keynes, and being an indie kid growing up there. Always meant to start writing about my hometown Milton Keynes, especially how much music played its part. Now there is the arrival of a new record shop by the train station, I felt excited at the prospect, and decided to make a special mini fanzine/zine for the launch day, which is June 29th!

This Milton Keynes special issue of the music fanzine is a kind of alphabetised list of music-related things I recall/treasured. Record shops, market stalls, gig venues, indie club nights, the music fanzine I started there, and more.

BUY BUY NOW! From the Etsy shop.

You can also buy via email to get Paypal details via artistic_vices @ yahoo dot co dot uk (£1.20 including postage). I'll get it out to some record shops soon. And, of course, it will be available on the day that Station Records launches its vinyl wares in Milton Keynes!

Station Records will be open every Saturday from 29th June. They will be raising money for Make A Difference youth projects. The address for the record shop is: The Cafe @ The Buszy, 401 Elder Gate, Central Milton Keynes, MK9 1LR.

https://www.facebook.com/stationrecordsmk

A New Record Shop for Milton Keynes!

I am really, really thrilled to learn that my hometown is soon to be enlivened by the launch of a second-hand record shop!

Station Records will be popping up at the new community initiative, The Buszy, former Milton Keynes bus station, close to the train station.

The Buszy came to my attention when I spotted - on a visit to MK - a sign that said THRIFT STORE. Then I came across the Twitter account for Moments in Wax, a new regular club night hosted there that plays a classic vinyl album in its entirety (the first one was Dark Side of the Moon, by Pink Floyd). I then heard about all kinds of fun goings on for youths at The Buszy, such as dance classes, skateboarding shows, vintage clothes/books/bric-a-brac and more on sale, and new skills for young people to learn in this community space.

It sounds like exactly what Milton Keynes has been missing. I spent my early 20s plotting indie club nights and various ways to make my hometown more musically richer. Even in the last year or so I have still found myself dreaming up independent record shop ideas and wanting to set something up myself - the thing is to make a quiet suburban place better, and try to create what you want, not just bemoan the place. Yes, I live in London now, but I still go back to Milton Keynes, and I still have a little place for it in my heart - I defy the detractors' uneducated diatribes against the city, since I have a slew of amazing aspects I can readily name that give the city a heart, and uniqueness. People make assumptions, people ridicule, people just haven't been there properly to know more. There might be shortcomings, but, well, why not kick something off to make the place your happier haven? It was here that I first started making music fanzines, and got to interview all kinds of amazing bands. I have many fond memories of gigs, music shops, record fairs, that first bought guitar, and music fandom and community. And so... a new record shop for Milton Keynes!


It is true that for some time in recent years musical stuff has been a bit more lacking than in former years. The late 90s saw bands such as REM, Mansun, Placebo, Blur, and so on play in Milton Keynes. There were regular decent gigs. There was a really worthy second-hand record shop in Wolverton in the shape of Fish Music (sadly, now closed, as many small music shops have in the UK). That record shop shaped my musical tastes, assisted my life story. We also had excellent secondhand music stalls on the market, which fuelled my liking of The Cure at a time when The Cure had gone all quiet and had not been resurrected as extremely cool and name-check worthy again (it took a huge number of years for that in the UK, and it still baffles me).

With the demise of so many music shops in Milton Keynes over the years (in my teens there were at least three or four: Andy's, Our Price, Fish Music, and possibly HMV at that same one time, if memory serves), I was bowled over to hear an announcement on Twitter that there is to be a new second hand record shop introduced at The Buszy premises! How ace will that be?



Open every Saturday from the 29th June, the shop will stock tapes, vinyl, and more. At last check, the stock has reached treble figures.

Profits from the project are going to go to a youth work charity called Make a Difference. And Station Records is also seeking to stock local artists.

The store is run by Warren Smith whose music fandom once reached into making a music fanzine local to Milton Keynes.

The All Thrills No Frills Music Bill paper fanzine (counterpart to this very blog) looks set to be stocked in Station Records, too. So look out for it on the 29th, when the store launches! We are working on a Milton Keynes music memories special.

Here's to runaway success for a wonderfully welcome and exciting independent initiative in Milton Keynes.

www.facebook.com/stationrecordsmk

www.twitter.com/stationrecmk

EMAIL: stationrecordsmk AT live.com

http://www.thebuszy.com/spotlight-products

Moments in Wax club night