Category Archives: Rockall

In 1853 entrepreneurs in Niagara Falls, N.Y., with a view to developing power generation capabilities of the Niagara River, began work on a hydraulic canal that would cut across the village of Niagara Falls, from an inlet above the American Falls to a site on the Niagara Gorge about 460 metres downriver from where the Rainbow Bridge is today.

The canal was completed in 1857 but the potential it offered was not put to good use until the Gaskill Flour Mill was built on the edge of the gorge in 1875. By the end of the 19th century that first facility had been joined by two other flour mills, three pulp mills and a silver plating factory.

At about the same time the water power also began to be used by the Schoellkopf family to generate power for the entire community. This undertaking resulted in the construction, between 1905 and 1924, of three huge Schoellkopf power generation plants at the rivers edge below those industries. Our old photo this week shows what the scene looked like in September 1925 the factories at the top of the gorge, the three power plants along the river.

However, one thing seems not to have been taken into consideration in all this. The water from the canal, after powering the mill wheels atop the gorge, passed through channels bored into stone before emptying into the gorge. Photos from the late 19th century show numerous mini-falls created by water that was pouring from the gorge wall into the river again. But the canal itself, the canal basin and those channels below the mills had never been given protective linings to prevent water from penetrating into the rock. All of that gushing water ended up honeycombing and destabilizing the gorge walls.

The result: on June 7, 1956, a significant part of the gorge wall above those power plants suddenly collapsed. In the morning power plant workers began to notice cracks developing in the buildings walls and foundations and a worrying amount of seepage of water through those cracks. During the day the cracks grew in size, the flow of water increased and rocks began to fall from the gorge wall onto the roofs of the power plants.

And then in little more than 10 minutes, starting at about 5:10 p.m. that day, the entire side of the gorge collapsed onto the three power plants, completely crushing two of them and seriously damaging the third. That one plant was partially returned to service in the next year, but the other two were total losses. The New York Power Authoritys Robert Moses power facility, which began operations in 1961 across the gorge from our Sir Adam Beck facility in Queenston, ultimately replaced the hydro power lost in this 1956 disaster.

Eventually the surviving Schoellkopf plant was demolished and the rubble from all three plants was removed. Today the place where the three Schoellkopf power plants once stood is a large open space used as a maintenance and storage area for the Maid of the Mist tour boat company.

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Yesterday and Today: The day of the Schoellkopf power plants disaster - StCatharinesStandard.ca

Now Dwayne is shamelessly trying to brainwash the country into handing him a political position. Fine, Ill say it: The Rock really wants to be the goddamn President of the United States. And like so many past, current, and future politicians, he is desperate for approval, even though nobody had a problem with him before he started trying to indoctrinate middle America into a lifestyle of creatine, sleeveless graphic tees, and jokes corny enough for Jimmy Fallons writers room.

Perhaps its this pitiful desire to please that has led him down the bleakest path: A rap song with Tech N9ne. Dont get me wrong, Im no Tech N9ne haterhe exists in his Midwest bubble and mostly leaves us alone, which is fine in my book. But every now and then Ill remember hes still chugging along, and this time its because of Face Off, his nightmarish team up with The Rock. The beat sounds like what I imagine comes pre-programmed in Ram trucks, and Tech N9ne and a few rappers I dont care about enough to Google do some ear-bleeding fast rapping. At the end comes The Rock, all riled up on protein powder and screaming phrases he probably picked up listening to Joe Rogans podcast in traffic: Its about drive, its about power/We stay hungry, we devour. Its not particularly fun or funny, which in a way aligns with everything The Rock has become.

Goldenboy Countup is from the Florida city of DeLand, just north of Orlando, but the piano-driven instrumentals on his recent mixtape Chicken Man bring to mind Detroit street rap. It makes sense; like Michigan, Florida contains several disconnected rap scenes and countless shit-stirring personalities. Yet this may be where the similarities end. While Michigan rappers tend to blur the line between fact and fiction, Goldenboy brings a realism to his rhymes that is distinct to Florida rap. On Airplane Mode, he casually takes us into a world of dope sales and fast money. Before I touched a rap I was a five brick nigga/I switched over to Ps nigga still six figures, he raps, almost in a whisper. He may be influenced by Detroit, but his approach to storytelling is his own.

About 20 seconds into Chief Keefs 2014 track War, the Chicago drill forefather begins to cough. Hard. If someone hacked like this next to you, it would be fair to move far away from them and tell them to get it checked out. Though it seemed like an accidental moment of genius in Keefs case, Yeats Sick is built entirely around his cough.

The song opens with the Portland rapper damn near regurgitating his last meal as he croons, Bitch Im sick and Im still making hits in the stu through showers of Auto-Tune. At first, it sounds gross, especially in the middle of a pandemic, yet it slowly becomes compelling as it goes on. It hits a chaotic peak when Yeat casually mutters, Bitch, I have a COVID and I dont give a fuck, bitch, Im still gon sip on this wock. Im no doctor, but that attitude sounds negligent. Keef would be proud though, and I guess thats what matters.

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Is Sample Drill a Dumb Trend or the Future of New York Rap? - Pitchfork

Roland Orzabal shared details of his wifes 2017 death as a result of alcoholism, saying hestarted writing the upcomingTears for Fears album The Tipping Point as a way of escaping from his emotional hell.

His spouse Caroline began developing health issues in 2007 and was prescribed medication that forbade the use of alcohol, but she never stopped drinking, he toldThe Guardian in a recent interview.

Caroline was a little bit lax and naughty when she would see doctors, Orzabal said. She wouldnt be 100 percent honest, she would talk about menopause. She would talk about empty-nest syndrome that became the next one, and it wasnt that at all. It was a number of things. And it was her liver, cirrhosis, and that was a long time coming.

He accepted that his own drinking worsened the situation. I dont know how commonly known it is that alcohol is far more dangerous for a woman than it is for a man, and the problem was Caroline used to match me, he said. But again, thats my own ignorance and stupidity at what was going on, because at that point in time there should have been no alcohol anywhere, thats a fact.

When she developed alcohol-related dementia, he spent the last years of her life as her carer, henoted. So it was five years of hell. I had a care company as well to take the weight off me, and there we were in our big country house in the West Country with an increasingly shrinking circle of friends. It was pretty harrowing. That waswhen Orzabal began work on The Tipping Point, the band's first album in 17 years that will be released on Feb. 25.

I needed some respite from the constant illness, the constant dysfunction, and as per usual, as Ive always done all my life, they went into lyrics and songs, he said. After her death, he added, he suffered health problems of his own and went to rehab, until a moment came when he could overlook his loss and consider his bandmate Curt Smith.

Thats when I thought: This guys really important, he explained. It was obvious its really obvious to a lot of people but then all of a sudden you think, Oh, no, this partnership is right, weve done great things. And the storys not over thank God!

UCR takes a chronological look at the 100 best rock albums of the '80s.

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Tears for Fears LP Started as Alcohol Took Roland Orzabal's Wife - Ultimate Classic Rock

DENMARK, Wis. (NBC 26) Some teams reward their top players with helmet stickers. Others give out the game ball. This season, Denmark High School is starting a new, more unique tradition.

Each Tuesday, the Vikings' four players of the week each get to take a swing at "The Rock," a one-ton granite boulder that sits right outside Denmark's field.

"It's pretty metaphorical but it's also an actual rock so that's our mantra of the year," senior linebacker/fullback Kenny Satori said.

"I've swung at it a couple times and it's fun every time," senior lineman Owen DeGrand said.

"The Rock" was taken from a nearby quarry. After players missed out on several valuable team bonding experiences last season due to COVID-19, head coach Tom Neuman said he wanted to find something new to bring the team together.

He said the idea was inspired by UW-Whitewater. The Division III powerhouse has used the slogan "Pound the Rock" for years.

"It all goes back to the Stonemasons," Neuman explained. "It's not the 101st blow that splits the rock. It's the 100 that came before it."

A reminder to the team to play not only for themselves, but for others that make up the past and future of the program.

"It comes down to this: The ones that came before us and the ones that came after," DeGrand explained. "So it's the kids that don't have the experience. They have never been in this spot for a conference championship. And we are. So now it's up to us to bring it back for them."

"That's kind of the mentality I wanted these guys to take," Neuman said. "Come to practice every day, work their hardest.

"There's going to be adversity that's as big and as heavy as that rock. But if we keep hitting it, then we can get through anything."

The Vikings have a chance to claim their first conference championship since 2007. They play arch-rival Luxemburg-Casco Friday night. If the Spartans win, they win the North Eastern Conference outright. If the Vikings win, the two teams will share the conference title.

The game will be televised on Sports Showdown. Coverage starts Friday at 7:00 p.m. on WACY TV-32.

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Denmark football 'pounding the rock' all the way to potential conference title - WGBA-TV

(Photo: DenisTangneyJr/iStock)Newburgh, New York

Population: 34,293

Newburgh was once dubbed the murder capital of New York, and while the small city on the Hudson River still has its challenges, a wave of investment from New York City transplants is driving a revival. A citywide trend is transforming vacant lots into parks and historic buildings into restaurants, boutique hotels, and artist studios. An event space called Lodger hosts dinners and art shows in a former undertakers office; Wireworks is a new coworking hub and artist studio in a renovated factory; and Graft Cider ages brews in an old textile plant. The town is also near the regions best adventures. Stewart State Forests 20-plus miles of singletrack are just west of town, the multi-pitch trad routes of the Shawangunk Mountains (a.k.a. the Gunks) are 30 minutes north, and the Hudson River offers paddling galore only steps from downtown. G.A.

Population: 2,806

The state recently began an initiative that pays remote workers $12,000 to move to certain townsand also covers a years worth of outdoor recreation. The smart ones will skip the perks and head straight for Fayetteville. Sitting on the edge of our newest national park, New River Gorge, with a footprint not much bigger than its small town square, Fayetteville has two world-class rivers in its backyard, the New and the Gauley, as well as more than 3,000 sport and trad routes on sandstone cliffs, paddling on nearby Summersville Lake, and a growing network of mountain-bike trails that starts on the edge of downtown. G.A.

Population: 1,004

Old Fort, surrounded by the Pisgah National Forest and located at the base of the Black Mountains, emptied out when manufacturing jobs were shipped overseas beginning in the eighties. Now some of those buildings are humming with life again. In 2019, Kitsbow Cycling Apparel renovated a former hosiery factory and moved its operations there. Last year, apparel and gear brand Triple Aught Design made the same move to town. Other warehouses are being turned into breweries, coffee shops, and CrossFit gyms. And the great outdoors is just minutes away. The tallest mountains in the East rise above 6,000-plus feet starting from the edge of downtown, offering gravel grinds, road climbs, trophy-trout waters, and ridgetop hiking and backpacking. A new 42-mile multipurpose trail system is in the works, and recreation gems like Kitsuma and Catawba Falls await. G.A.

Population: 24,565

Located in the middle of the Flathead Valley, about 30 miles southwest of Glacier National Park, Kalispell has been the regions agricultural and industrial hub for decades, but several new projects are shifting to tourism and sustainability. The city recently broke ground on the Kalispell Parkline, replacing old railroad tracks to develop a two-mile-long linear park and multi-use trail. The industrial businesses that used to occupy the towns center have moved to the outskirts, making room for stores, restaurants, and multi-family housing. The city wants to keep Kalispell affordable for locals who have called it home for generations. G.A.

Population: 5,000

This out-of-the-way place, located at the eastern end of Highway 50 an hour northwest of Great Basin National Park, has a thriving mountain-bike scene thats only getting better. To add to the 50 miles of existing singletrack that starts at the edge of downtown, the local trail club and tourism bureau are building 51 more miles: a 30-mile stretch south to 10,936-foot Ward Mountain, and a 21-mile system north to the Garnet Hill Recreation Area, a rockhounding site. Both projects, funded by a grant from the International Mountain Biking Association, are expected to be completed in a few years. G.A.

Population: 1,047

A lot of locals left Rangeley, 120 miles north of Portland, six years ago, when the Saddleback Mountain ski resort closed. Those who stuck around focused on diversifying the areas outdoor draws and capitalizing on its location along the shores of 6,000-acre Rangeley Lake. Locals opened a brewery and bike shop, and in December 2020, Saddleback Mountain reopened under new ownership. It now has a lift system that serves a 440-acre area with 2,000 feet of vertical drop and numerous fat-bike trails. If thats not enough, Sugarloaf, the largest ski resort in the East, is located just 29 miles away and has a 450-acre expansion in the works. G.A.

Population: 28,878

Desert Hot Springs has always been about relaxation, thanks to numerous mineral-water pools that dot the parched landscape. Recently, it has leaned into another natural form of leisure: marijuana. The historic spa town, 100 miles east of Los Angeles, was the first in California to legalize cultivation. The decision saved it from bankruptcy by generating a viable tax base, and in December the town council voted to lean further into cannabis tourism by legalizing the sale and consumption of weed at entertainment venues and hotels. As for the great outdoors, Desert Hot Springs sits just south of both Sand to Snow National Monument and Joshua Tree National Park, and the brand-new, 12-mile Long Canyon Trail connects less-frequented areas within the two sites. G.A.

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Where to Live Now (and in the Rapidly Changing Future) - Outside

Oxford Mail readers have been discussing the reliability of bus services in the city.

We asked readers on the newspapers Facebook page: Have you noticed more buses being cancelled recently?" and they responded with their views.

Bus companies sometimes put out warnings to passengers that services will be delayed if roadworks are causing gridlock.

On September 21, there were major delays across the city centre due to roadworks and Oxford Bus Company tweeted a warning to passengers that services were being delayed by 90 minutes.

Read again: Police find stash of illegal cigarettes

The company said at the time: The city is now gridlocked this evening as well, we are currently experiencing severe delays of up to 90 minutes on some routes.

The 3/3A, City5 and Abingdon services are most affected. Thank you for your patience during these difficult conditions.

Major roadworks on Botley Road undertaken by Thames Water have now been completed, which has significantly reduced traffic delays.

There were also bus cancellations and delays due to congestion in the city centre in October 2019.

Oxford Bus Company at the time warned its passengers: Traffic on Botley Road and Abingdon Road showing no signs of easing. Congestion is also affecting Frideswide Square/Rail Station and St Giles and Banbury Road.

Some readers on Facebook criticised bus services while others said they had not experienced any particular problems.

One former bus driver commented, saying he had received abuse from a minority of passengers and this had forced him to quit.

Read more: Headteacher's warning about bridge

GARRET COYLE: I left because I was fed up with abuse from passengers, not all passengers I may add, but when too much abuse takes its toll and then I felt myself getting angry most days and having re occurring nightmares due to my service in the army, only one option I had and that was to leave the industry.

A lot of passengers were great, but some are very ungrateful for the job we try to do and keep everyone happy.

ALAN BEAMES: The fastest way to improve the health of Oxford residents would be to cancel them all (the buses).

JOANNA HORTON: Alan Beames Not everyone can walk or drive a car.

THOMAS SAUNDERS: Alan Beames great lots more cars on the road more traffic and pollution.

OXFORD MAIL READER: They are literally never on time.

OXFORD MAIL READER: Thats because of car drivers causing traffic jams.

Try doing the job before moaning about buses being late.

LISA LING: Why are they cancelling buses?"

ROSY REED: That was happening so bad before Covid on the Aylesbury to Oxford 280.

ABBEY CASTANHEIRA: Yes - so annoying when not notified.

JAMES KIRTLAND: Not enough buses.

STEPHANIE HANCOCK: Yes - the X3 from the John Radcliffe keeps being changed to Abingdon instead of the six-minute Barton Park route.

CHRIS DRISCOLL: Yes - its annoying not being notified. Has happened twice now.

NIKI GILES: Cancel them all.

KAREN ELLWOOD: There are not enough drivers and the drivers they have are working flat out for weeks without a day off to help.

NICK ROCKALL: Yes one out of service.

CRAIG SMITH: Bus drivers are jumping on to HGVs with the better rates of pay.

MICHAEL LARMAN: Craig Smith but HGV drivers are refusing to drive for a living because of poor rates of pay and long hours. You couldnt make it up.

KATHRYN WHITBY: Good Lord! That cancel culture is endemic!

PHIL REAY: I cannot say I have. Is it time to panic, is that where this is leading where we have sit-ins on buses?

GOWHARA NOOR: We need buses on electric with no drivers.

MICHAEL LARMAN: Cancelled? The evidence Im seeing is they are now doing a door to door service!

JULIAN PHILP: Lets all panic ride the buses.

OXFORD MAIL READER: Bus crisis - go and buy a few.

LEE BENNETT: Well in 2016 around 122 bus services were cancelled.

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How reliable are bus services? Readers have their say - Oxford Mail

Autism in Motion (AIM) Clinics will host a socially distanced Trick-or-Treat event for the Conway autism community. The sensory-friendly event will take place at the AIM Clinics therapy center at 815 S. Donaghey Avenue in Conway from 1-3 p.m. Oct. 30.

AIM Clinics is a leader in the field of ABA therapy and holds a two-year accreditation from Behavioral Health Centers of Excellence (BHCOE).

The AIM Clinics Trick-or-Treat event is open to the public and is free for all community members. It will offer an autism-friendly alternative to traditional trick-or-treating.

Children will be able to trick or treat and receive traditional Halloween candy, sensory toys and other therapeutic items in a sensory-friendly environment. Children are encouraged to wear their own comfortable, sensory-friendly costumes to the event.

AIM Clinics therapists will be stationed throughout the event to provide support and share information on autism services and therapy.

At AIM Clinics, we are committed to providing opportunities for children and teens with autism to engage in community events, AIM Clinics Community Director Ali Thomas said. The flashing lights, spooky noises and trick-or-treating can be challenging and get in the way of festive fall fun. Events like our annual trick-or-treat can help those with sensory sensitivities enjoy important community celebrations in a way that works for them.

The event is free and open to the public. All programing will be special needs-friendly.

About AIM Clinics

The Conway clinic boasts intentionally-designed early childhood therapy spaces, an extraordinary teen space, an autism-friendly sensory room, a large active play space and custom-designed therapy rooms. These features will allow clients to work on language development, functional communication skills, fine and gross motor skills, social skills and other daily living skills to grow and work toward independence.

AIM Clinics Conway belongs to the AIM Clinics family of 29 clinics nationwide. Three of these clinics are located in central Arkansas: one in Conway and two in Little Rock. All locations are now enrolling and accepting new clients. The Conway clinic is currently recruiting clients who will attend the day program and early intervention services. This program is specific for children who are 6-years-old or younger.

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Autism in Motion Clinics to host Trick-or-Treat event - Log Cabin Democrat

Can Tom Brady at 44 years of age possibly replicate his 400+ yard, five touchdown performance against Miami on short rest against the Eagles tonight? Can the Eagles find a way to win another one if the offense once again fails to muster 300 yards like they did in their comeback win over Carolina?

Lets jump into this NFL Week 6 Thursday Night Football matchup with a look at the best Bucs vs. Eagles player props picks.

Unless we totally miss our mark, on a short week with key injuries on both sides of the ball, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are going to want to win this game the quickest and easiest way possible. If Tom Brady has to throw for 300+ yards, then something went wrong for Tampa Bay. Think of this game like the New England one, but with the added short prep/recovery factor. The Patriots tried to keep everything in front of them and force the Bucs to beat them with the run game. Tampa obliged, rushing the ball 30 times for 120 yards with Brady going just 22-43 for 269 passing yards, his second lowest total of the season.

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Brady similarly failed to top 280 passing yards against Atlanta, also the only game aside from the New England matchup in which he failed to complete over 30 passes.

Regardless of Bradys hand injury, we dont see head coach Bruce Arians risking his teams season by dropping Brady back 40+ times against a talented Philadelphia defensive line if he doesnt have to. Its even less likely to happen when you consider Philadelphias opponents have completed the tenth least passes per game against (21.8), while attempting the sixth fewest (31.6).

Most notably, the Eagles boast the NFLs third best pass defense, allowing just 194.8 yards per game through the air in 2021, a number that drops to just 150.0 yards per game at Lincoln Financial Field, the leagues second best mark.

Leonard Fournette only rushed the ball 12 times against Miami, despite the blowout victory. With Ronald Jones and Giovani Bernard also dependable backs, we expect to see a run-centric attack by the Buccaneers in this one. After all, they will be facing the third-worst rush defense in football, one that allows 142 yards per game on the ground.

Why risk the health of the best quarterback in the history of the game when you can potentially pound the rock 40 or more times and still come away with a win? Arians is smart enough to realize that and if this one gets out of hand like Sundays win over the Dolphins, Blaine Gabbert could even come in for mop up duties, sparing us cheap late yardage tacked onto Bradys stat line.

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It may be about time to make the statement that DeVonta Smith has officially arrived. We had to wonder a bit after the disappointing three-catch, 28-yard performance against Dallas in primetime, but Smith, who was still targeted six times in that game, responded with two huge performances since.

Smith hauled in seven catches against both Kansas City and Carolina, good for 122 and 77 yards, respectively. His 10 and eight respective targets in those games were both team highs, continuing a streak of at least six targets in each game to begin his NFL career.

And, now, the rookie gets to face off against the leagues worst pass defense which allows 314.4 yards per game through the air. With the Bucs often leading games by large margins, opponents are averaging 45 pass attempts against Tampa in 2021, easily a league high.

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Following right in tow is our crucial statistic, completions against, with Tampa Bay allowing more than five more catches per game than any other team (32.8). With Smith now firmly set as Hurts favorite target and facing a depleted secondary playing without starting safety Antoine Winfield Jr. and without two of its three top corners (Sean Murphy-Bunting and Carlton Davis), the Eagles wide receiver should find a ton of opportunities to top this prop bets requirement.

At least one player has caught seven or more balls in every single game against Tampa Bay this season. Smith is the best bet the Eagles have to join this list and the rookie should continue his emergence toward stardom with an active game this Thursday evening.

With Rob Gronkowski still recovering from a rib injury, Cameron Brate and O.J. Howard move to the top of the tight end depth chart in his absence. As we expect a run-heavy attack for Tampa to protect its star quarterback and shorten this game for its aging team (third oldest in the NFL) on the limited rest ahead of Thursday nights, Brate should find himself on the field most often, being the better blocking tight end of the two.

Brate was already the teams first choice as the blocking tight end option in 12 personnel where two tight ends are on the field with two receivers. He has been a dynamic red zone weapon throughout his career and caught the most balls at the tight end position for the Bucs during last seasons playoff run.

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With the Bucs presumably content to pound the rock all night against one of the leagues worst rush defenses, this should set Brate up for some touchdown opportunities off play-action near the goal line.

The Eagles have allowed four touchdowns to tight ends in the last three weeks and have given up nine touchdowns of six yards or less this season, including eight in the last three weeks alone. Five of those eight were passing touchdowns. That will be prime real estate for Brate in this one.

Tampa Bay has amassed four touchdowns to tight ends this season and has scored 13 touchdowns already from 11 yards out or closer. Interestingly, 8 of those 13 were passing touchdowns (61.5%), proving Brady isnt bashful throwing the ball in these spots. Look for Brate, a seeming decoy, to find paydirt in this one.

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The Top Bucs vs. Eagles Player Props Picks - Crossing Broad

For an artist registered and branded as one of guitar heroisms most innovative players, Bill Nelson is not one to be stuck in the past or focused on the present. Always inventing, always evolving, and always looking to the next thing (and the thing after that) the Yorkshire, U.K.-based guitarist and songwriter made himself and his legendary first ensemble Be-Bop Deluxe into an anomaly from their first record. With 1974s glam-era debut Axe Victim, BBD added a progressive complexity and a daring density to the glittery genre, a dynamic previously unheard within Britpops most pomp and circumstantial sound. Nelsons razor-sharp and soaring eletro-induced solos were a large part of that experimental esprit. Then and now, Nelsons guitar scrawl sounds like no other. Increasingly catchy and chancy as time went on, 1976s opulent Sunburst Finish and 1978s Drastic Plastic are very much at one with their titles.

For all of its studio wizardry (produced by Nelson with John Leckie, eventually known for his work with Magazine and PiL), 1977s Live! In the Air Age is Be-Bop Deluxes art-rock masterpiece: an elegant, sprawling mix of then-new, previously unrecorded and past work splayed across the dirtball nihilism of Brit-punks origin story. Recorded live on BBDs 1977 tour just months before its release, Live! is fiery and hot wired for freshness. After they pressed their audacious 1977 concert LP, BBD stuck around for one more album (the aforementioned Drastic Plastic) before disappearing with Nelson moving forward and focusing on Cocteau-inspired solo work, another band (Red Noise), collaborations with fellow travelers in experimental electronic music (Yellow Magic Orchestra, David Sylvian, Roger Eno, Cabaret Voltaire), and an ongoing series of homemade ambient albums, previously unreleased epics, and other sonic explorationsall hung on a moon of fierce independence as an artist and as a releasing agent.

Nelson never looked back, until 2018s four-album exploration of Sunburst Finish. That recently opened the door, thankfully, to a similarly sized four-LP Axe Victim, and now a whopping 15-CD/one DVD expansion of Live! In the Air Age to include every gig on that 1977 tour, along with freshly remixed and vividly remastered sound. Though an active blogging presence, Nelson doesnt do many interviews, so our rare opportunity to speak with him is particularly choice.

What can you tell me about your newest musics deepest inspirationswhat unites it, and why is it that its so limited in availability?

I find Im dealing with themes of age and mortality, memory and reflection. I guess its because of this particular period of my life Im having to deal with. It would be ridiculous for a man of my age to write lyrics and music from the point of view of someone in their twenties. That would be a sham. I have no choice but to reflect on my present situation and concerns. Having written so many songs over the years, I need to push the boundaries and keep my creative juices flowing. Thankfully Ive never come up against writers blockI can usually find a starting point, whether its lyrics or music. I like nothing better than having a blank canvas in front of me, waiting to become a picture in sound.

I like nothing better than having a blank canvas in front of me, waiting to become a picture in sound.

What led you to digging through the crates for these Be-Bop Deluxe reissues, finding all of the extras for Live! and Axe Victim?

The truth is I didnt go digging at all. The idea to re-release them in that form came entirely from Cherry Red and Esoteric Recordings who own the Be-Bop Deluxe back catalogue. Mark Powell of Esoteric did all the research and unearthed the extra tracks. I just contributed a written essay for each release and sometimes supplied a photograph or two from my archives. I wouldnt have had the time to search out lost tapes and so on. And, to be perfectly honest, I would have probably had little interest in doing so. But Esoteric have excelled themselvesthe packaging and presentation are first class. Theyve done a fine job and Im very happy with the result.

Has your past music become any less daunting of a topic for you?

Not really daunting, just a little frustrating at times. I dislike being stereotyped, and because of Be-Bop Deluxes commercial success people tend to associate me with that era and that band. But Be-Bop Deluxe represents only a tiny fraction of my creative life. My career as a musician didnt stop with the bands demise, it went on at an even more intense pace, uninterrupted to this day. Im making the music I feel I have to make without any commercial restraints.

Glam, prog rock, and art rock all had their own scenes at your start. Were you aware of all of them, or were you and the rest of the band more concerned with getting down to the business of music?

When Be-Bop Deluxe started, we had no ambitions about becoming a professional band. We were all holding down day jobs and the band was a kind of hobby, a release from ordinary life. The glam image was a bit of fun, partly stemming from my art student background and partly an attempt to freak out the rather conservative working mens club audiences we were playing to in Yorkshire back then. But, as luck had it, we eventually got signed to EMIs Harvest Records and the first album wrapped up the bands music at that point, along with the glam image. It was hilarious in a wayyou only had to look at the band to see that under the makeup, we were anything but glamorous! But I moved away from all that as soon as possible. I think the music the later band made was unclassifiable. It was a genre unto itself.

Be-Bop Deluxe represents only a tiny fraction of my creative life. My career as a musician didnt stop with the bands demise, it went on at an even more intense pace. Im making the music I feel I have to make without any commercial restraints.

How did Darkness change your game as a songwriter?

Darkness is really the odd one out on Axe Victim. I wrote it on piano rather than guitar and it lent itself to an orchestral and choral arrangement. Lyrically it was inspired by the decadent poets and symbolist painters I had been interested in for some years. It freed me from the rock straightjacket to a degree, and laid foundations for some of the music Ive made in more recent years on solo albums such as The Alchemical Adventures of Sailor Bill.

The August 1977 shows in the Live! collection were recorded in the U.K. at the very height of punk. What wereand areBe-Bop Deluxe within that moment? In some ways you guys predicated all that, and in some ways you were its antithesis.

Punk was another one of those moments in pop that came along and then faded. I never felt threatened by it and welcomed its rebelliousness, but it never felt truly radical or revolutionary to me. It was just rock n roll with snarlier vocals. But it seems that Be-Bop Deluxe was respected by a lot of the punk bandsSteve Jones of the Pistols and Adam Ant, amongst others, were fans.

What does the guitar and all of its possibilities and limitations mean to you now that it didnt thenand vice versa?

The guitar has always been at the center of my musical expression, even though Ive explored keyboard textures, electronics, and sampling. It will always remain so. I fell in love with the instrument around 10 years old and it still fires my imagination to this day. Its basically wedded to my soul.

The guitar has always been at the center of my musical expression, even though Ive explored keyboard textures, electronics, and sampling. Its basically wedded to my soul.

Considering all the old work youre re-issuing and all the new work youre releasing, who and what is Bill Nelson in 2021-2022, and what should we expect next?

Who am I? Well, I guess thats what Im trying to find out via the music I make. Its a personal exploration, a form of therapy and a meditation. I cant tell an audience what to expect from me because I cant tell that to myself. I have no idea whats coming next until it arrives. And once it has arrived, I dont know what it means until quite some time after. Its as mysterious a process to me as it is to anyone else. And maybe thats as it should be. But at the moment, Im preparing a six-CD set of new music to release titled My Private Cosmos, plus a single-CD album titled Mixed Up Kid, a kind of prequel to the former album. Im hoping to release them around November or December.

What is your opinion of Be-Bop Deluxe now?

Im proud of it, of course. Its a very long time ago, and theres been so much musical water under my bridge since then. I dont hanker after that period, although I look back on it with fondness. But Im more interested in the here and now. The past is a foreign country and Im happy to let it take care of itself. FL

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In Conversation: Bill Nelson on the Influence and Legacy of Be-Bop Deluxe - FLOOD Magazine

Bob Mehr|Memphis Commercial Appeal

When Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author Daniel de Vis began contemplating a biography of B.B. King one of the most iconic figures in American music he was shocked at what he discovered.

I was stunned when I realized a major bio on him hadnt come out since 1980, when Charlie Sawyer published his book on B.B. And B.B.s own memoirs were almost 25 years old. It felt like there was an opportunity there to tell a big story. I love books that take a huge important person and explain why they are so well known, says de Vis who will discusshis new book, King of the Blues: The Rise and Reign of B.B. King, during a free event at Memphis Listening Lab on Saturday.

For de Vis, each of his books have come with a personal connection. His first biography, Andy and Don a dual portrait of the professional and personal relationship between Andy Griffith and Don Knotts was a matter of family, as de Vis is Knotts' brother-in-law. His next book, "The Comeback," about cycling legend Greg LeMond, was inspired by de Vis's father, a native of Belgium who was a major cycling enthusiast.

de Vis ultimately came to write Kings story through his love of the blues. Raised in Chicago, he grew up seeing the citys great bluesmen in concert as a teenager and studied music before becoming a successful newspaper journalist.

I was always a kind of frustrated music writer. I knew wanted to write some kind of music book. And, for me, B.B. was the ultimate topic. I think hes the only true blues superstar, says de Vis. When you look at his career, he played something like 17,000 gigs in 90 different countries… its incredible. I mean, we sold the foreign rights to this book in places like Estonia. That tells you the reach he had.

de Vis began work on the King book in 2018 three years after Kings May 2015 passing and started his research in the Delta, Memphis and the Mid-South where the musicians early roots lay.

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Riley B. King was born Sept. 16, 1925, in Berclair, Mississippi, between Itta Bena and Indianola. The great-grandson of a slave, his childhood was filled with heartbreak, as he lost most of his family by the time he was a teen. Blues music through the records of Lonnie Johnson and Blind Lemon Jefferson and via his cousin, the slide guitar master Bukka White had a profound effect on the young King who, between work at the local cotton plantation, would spend Saturday afternoons picking and playing on the street corners of Indianola.

By the late 40s King had moved to the Bluff City, where he soaked up the city's hothouse musical atmosphere. It was the big city to him, says de Vis. He made two pilgrimages to Memphis. The first one was aborted, as he wasnt able to get the foothold he wanted. So he returned to Indianola and returned to life there. But he eventually came back to Memphis for good in 1949.

Before long, he went knocking on the doors of Memphis Black-oriented radio station WDIA, where he made his name as a performer and radio personality. King would rise through the regional entertainment ranks, recording at Sam Phillips fledgling Memphis Recording Service, and releasing his first sides for the Modern and R.P.M. labels. He scored his first hit record, the chart-topping R&B number 3 OClock Blues, in 1952.

B.B. was a citizen of the world, says de Vis, but Memphis was massively important to his history. It was the center of his universe, as much as Chicago was the center of Muddy Waters'or Howlin Wolfs universe.

One of the most interesting aspects of King of the Blues is how it recognizes and contextualizes the fact that King was heralded more, at least initially, as a vocalist than a guitar player.

Throughout B.B.'s early career as an entertainer, in the Black R&B genre, he was almost never celebrated for his guitar work, he was known as the greatest blues singer, over and over again in hundreds of clippings. His fans, the African American press, almost took it for granted that he played guitar, says de Vis.

Its hard to get your head around that now because there was so much adulation for his guitar work later on. But all the way up to (1964s famed) Live at the Regal album hes introduced as ladies and gentlemen… the worlds greatest blues singer.

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It would, however, be Kings innovations as a guitarist that stand as his greatest legacy.

Historically speaking, B.B King created a role for the guitar, for the electric guitar, at the absolute center of popular music, says de Vis. I think its because of B.B. that you have these successive generations of guitar heroes. Guitar was a backbench instrument in 1949 when B.B. recorded his first sides. There werent very many people playing guitars and leading combos. The R&B charts were filled with singers, and singers who played piano or saxophone. The guitar was not at the front and center of R&B music then.

B.B. took this lineage of people who had developed a solo guitar style starting with Lonnie Johnson and Charlie Christian and T-Bone Walker and his big innovation was the idea of the guitar being an extension of his voice, his own singing voice. That set him apart from all the others. He took the vibrato of classical violin and added in the cry of the Hawaiian steel guitar, the plaintive sound of early country and the exhortations of Bob Wills band, and he created this vocal style of solo guitar."

His work would come to resonate profoundly in Britain, where a generation of budding rock guitarists from Eric Clapton to Jeff Beck to Jimmy Page felt his impact in the 1960s. "All these guitar players started listening to him," says de Vis, "and a decade and a half later he was repurposed as a guitar hero.

Beyond the creative aspects, King of the Blues offers a deep investigation into Kings personal life and history as well, and de Vis provides a wealth of new revelations. One claim in the book which Kings estate has pushed back against is that none of Kings 15 children were his. de Viss research suggests that an accident as a boy left King unable to have children of his own, though he would eventually accept numerous paternity claims and support a contingent of sons and daughters.

The way I see it is that B.B. lost his own family when he was young. He was an only child, his brother died in infancy. His mother left his father when he was 5. Then his mother died when he was 10. His grandmother died when he was 14. His family just vanished and evaporated. So I think he spent the rest of his life trying to build a family, says de Vis.

Its really lovely and actually quite poignant that he built and supported this family and he didnt care whether they were his children or not. He embraced every single paternity claim without question… until he didnt. There was a point that he stopped and said the familys full, were done. The fact that they probably werent his biological children is fascinating. I think he just loved and cherished the idea of having a family.

The book also looks at howKing became the blues'biggest starand how he managed to remain a relevant musical figure for seven decades.

Starting in the late-60s with his crossover to the white rock market, and his biggest chart triumph with 1969s Top 20 hit and Grammy-winning single The Thrill Is Gone, King would become a kind of ambassador for the genre, exposing the music to its biggest audiences through his appearances on television, in film and on the road. He continued to tour tirelessly until the end of his life, spending an average of 250 nights on the road most years.

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Every decade brought a kind of renewal for him, says de Vis. In the late '60s he began playing places like the Fillmore, for white pop fans, and then he toured with the Rolling Stones in 1969. By the end of the 1970s, he had his first big comeback LPs as a record maker, working with producer Stewart Levine and the Crusaders, and then by end of the '80s he was working with U2, who worshipped him. He was able to be reinvigorated and reintroduced to mainstream audiences every so often.

Over the course of his career, King would record some 80 albums, and de Vis notes that there'sa scope and breadth to those recordings thats often overlooked.

Considering hes the greatest blues artist, its striking how many dozens of records he made that dont sound anything like 12-bar blues. Some of the really great records he made with (producer) Bill Szymczyk at the close of the 60s or Stewart Levine in the late-70s, theres tons of stuff on those records that doesnt sound like blues. Hes branching out to funk and jazz and rock, all these genres, and at times hes very far removed from Delta blues, says de Vis.

Thats a big part of why he stayed on top for so long. He kept stretching into these different areas. That's why his story is so interesting too hereally was an innovator and a visionary.

Daniel de Vis discusses "King of the Blues: The Rise and Reign of B.B. King"

6:30 p.m. Saturday at Memphis Listening Lab, 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 269

The event is free. For more information go to MemphisListeningLab.org.

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'King of the Blues': New revelations mark definitive B.B. King biography - Commercial Appeal