The Rowboat Syndicate: Cover Art Down Under

Courtesy Apple Corps, Ltd./Universal Music Group

The Rowboat Syndicate: Cover Art Down Under: Australia generally replicated The Beatles' UK album releases during the 60s, although there were a couple of oddities along the way. T...

Bluetooth at home and on the go: Now in its 30th year

Leto Bluetooth speaker (no relation to Jared)

MC SeonWoo, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

 While Bluetooth has been around for some time now, it's not like me or other people to catch on late, often times because of the cost. Some even got telly decades after most of western civilisation to put it that way. When I switched phones, I couldn't use the classic cord that I grew up with anymore. A few years ago, I managed to find a pair of JBL headphones at the charity shop for $7. They work with my Android and I don't think I had them yet for my ageing iPhone. Only today at the chaz, did I finally find a standalone Bluetooth speaker that I could afford. I do have it in my record machine in another part of the house, but it's more inconvenient than playing good old vinyl since I just don't have that much room. On the same token, I have dozens of CDs stored in the attic, and it can be too cold in winter and hot in the summer to rummage through a large moving box in cramped quarters, especially if I need to play something at a moments notice or on a certain day. While I still want to go to shops and get real LPs and CDs when I can afford it, subscribing to Amazon and sometimes even going to YouTube or even a pirate site saves time and money, which is why streaming is mega these days. Netflix is more suited for the sister TV blog, and I don't watch much TV either way anymore. However, I wonder if it's actual stereo or just a glorified mono folddown. One brand sold at Dollar Tree with $5-10 items says to buy two speakers for true stereo, but I'm lucky to get this used one, since it takes time for newer tech to cost less and reach the second hand and even the thrift store, which doesn't happen everyday, but that can be explored at the retail blog. There's no need to spend hundreds more on hi-fi for your wi-fi. It was a right fortune as it is just to get the phone fixed after it broke more than once, mind. As for getting a good deal on Bluetooth at a place that is usually just full of junk, sometimes on a good day, you win the pools.

Arena

Arena, 2020. L-R: Kylan Amos, John Mitchell, Mick Pointer, Paul Manzi and Clive Nolan.

Kajamera, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Courtesy Verglas Music.

 Arena are a band I have been dabbling with for some time, but unlike some of the related bands, I may not be getting all of the CDs since it gets expensive to go after all these every time I bring someone new into my collection. Mick Pointer, late of Marillion, and Clive Nolan, also of Pendragon, started the band in 1994, and there have been several different lineups ever since, which have included John Jowitt of IQ and Jadis; John Mitchell of Frost*, It Bites, Fish, Lonely Planet, and now Asia; and former Landmarq and Threshold frontman as well Headspace and Rick Wakeman band member Damian Wilson (his joining is what got me to buy the most recent studio album, The Theory of Molecular Inheritance). Unfortunately, other commitments will have him moving on by years end. Paul Manzi left in 2020 to join the Sweet of all people, which some may consider selling out, by going from a complex prog band to a latter day lineup of a glam band from the '70s. However, he will be back for good by next year. Now I know why I used an old photo (Manzi was originally supposed to be on the last album before the split was announced). Pointer still plays his old bands music on occasion in a side project with original bass player Cliff Orsi, proving that he's no Pete Best. Mitchell and Nolan have also worked the late John Wetton of Asia on his 2003 solo album Rock of Faith, and the former on the Wetton (Geoff) Downes Icon series.
 Arenas sometimes dark lyrics and layered sound design resonate with me and many listeners. The band have been independent from the start, managing themselves and running their own label. They have built up a cult following spanning over three decades. Like other artists with simplistic names, they get confused with obscure artists of the same name on Amazon, where I stream them, Spotify and maybe even indie specialists emusic. Look for the Verglas label, or at least what you know is the real Arena on these services, given the generic nature of the name. No word yet on the next studio album now that Manzi is poised to return in one years time. At least I can easily stream the band at home as I can on the go and at home, but that will be the next post, this being the first in 2026. I guess it comes from getting bored of the other bands and despising current mainstream rubbish. I may have even designed the next albums sleeve for them out of sigils, which current bass player and art director Kylan Amos could adapt, even though AI even knows his style. I drew them for something else while playing the band.
    One more live album would be nice from the current lineup. Tracks like "Valley of the Kings" from the latest tour have not been officially recorded or filmed live with Wilson (or even original singer John Carson [no relation to Johnny Carson] for that matter from the first album and tour, if any, since there was little live activity with him, and he imitated Pointers former colleague Fish at times to where they had to play the old guard just to fill the set and seats at the same time). Bootlegs don't even seem to exist of Arena (pirates do, but we've been over that with other people), while shows of different lineups are on YouTube, including some of the oldest from early guitarist and seasoned session player Keith More, who is terminally ill and once worked with Paul and Linda McCartney, sharing an interest in animal rights and the environment. Increasing security at most venues these days make it much harder to film or record most shows, yet one survives from this past year on video (it wouldn't be worth it to try to copy the audio and spend all day trying to split up the tracks, which is why there should just be official soundboard recordings fans can buy, or even what the Grateful Dead allowed when they were still together with a taper section and trading recordings, yet Arena are indie and are more cult than the Bay Area icons by comparison, so it may not be feasible in the current climate).
    I hope to get more from Arena as I can afford. They have been upstaging everyone else, even those I know and love. I know I can build on this as I have for much of the collection I've accumulated.

AI of original album design for next album