Dunkin' Donuts is the New Starbucks.

I went to Dunkin' Donuts for coffee the other day, the one on Milwaukee (the same one they took Dan Bell to when he was in town). I find myself going up there just to get out of the studio. Sometimes I take my sketch pad up there and chill. Do you realize that you can get a cup of coffee and two donuts for the price of a (not so) tall White Chocolate Mocha at Starbucks? I was sold when I figured that out.

Nymphs.

Right now, I'm listening to this group called The Nymphs.They're one of my favorite bands and totally forgotten today. I got turned onto them years and years ago, way before techno, when I was working at a record shop in Detroit called Sam's Jams.

The Nymphs were signed to DGC. They were led by a female named Inger Lorre. They had this really big stadium sound. Serious L.A. glam, Sunset Strip-type rock. Loud and swinging. Huge drum sounds. They were eclipsed, though, by DGC's big L.A. band, Guns 'N' Roses, whose "Use Your Illusion I & II" CDs came out at the same time.

Inger had drug problems and Nymphs never released another record. Then Nirvana--another DGC band--came along and killed that whole Whiskey-a-Go Go style L.A. rock.

Anyway, if you still like real, loud, straight-up guitar rock (which fewer and fewer people do), Nymphs is the shit. I used to turn people onto the CD when I worked at the record shop.

Penelope.

Here's the commission painting I've been working on. My new patron is this beautiful woman from London named Penelope. Like Lady Penelope from "Thunderbirds." Remember her and her pink car, the FAB-1? So English, I love it. Anyway, Penny saw my art show in Paris and asked me to do her in my style. I sent her a scan of the work-in-progress, and she e-mailed me all that day ranting and raving, "Oldham, you're a genius! I can't stop looking at it!" Looks like a hit! Now I'm doing two more for her after this one. Plus, her friend wants one of her as well.

This one turned out so good I might have to borrow it back for my next art show.

The Telaphones.

There's a guy I know, Marco Repetto from Bern, Switzerland. He's an old friend who I try and visit at least once a year. He's got a beautiful villa right outside Bern. I put his music out in the USA on Generator way back in the day as Random Fluctuations, and years later he returned the favor by putting out my "Neutra" EP in Europe back in '03 on his label Inzec.

Anyway, his son's got a rock band now called The Telaphones. They really sound hot! I remember making Batman drawings with this kid in the middle of the floor, now he's a fucking rock star! They just got back from touring China last month.

Check out the band here.

Love Parade Berlin 2001.

Came across these and thought I'd share. I'd never had a venue to show them until now. These were taken on the Raveline/Elevator float during the Berlin Love Parade. I had actually played the year before, also, but this time we were armed with a camera. If you've ever wondered what one million people in one place looks like, here it is.

For those who don't know Love Parade, there are many floats or moving trucks sponsored by various clubs or companies, each with its own sound system and a bunch of partiers hanging off them. For me, spinning on a moving truck in the hot sun was a challenge and a lot of fun. Suburban Knight and Octave One also played on the float with me.

When we finally got off the truck at Brandenburg Gate, in the middle of that massive crowd, who do we run into but DJ Godfather of all people! Detroit everywhere you look.

That night, I played the outdoor area at Tresor. It was non-stop! It was experiences like this that made me fall in love with Berlin. The people, energy and music there can't be matched. The place would literally save my soul, my well-being, and creativity.

Because of these performances, I was asked to play the Love Parade in Mexico City the following year with Dave Tarrida. More fun times.

Both Love Parade Berlin and Tresor are gone now. I heard La Real in Spain recently shut down, too. Times are changing before our eyes.

Detroit History.

If you read my last entry, you can tell I've been in a nostalgic mood lately, musically. I was listening to Martha and the Muffins' "Danseparc" and it put me in mind of a great musical influence that I had growing up in Detroit that you might not be aware of.

It was a great radio station called WLBS.

LBS started out around 1978 as a disco station owned by the same people who owned WBLS in New York. "Disco and More" was its slogan. They used to play all the 12-inch extended versions of Village People, Chic, Gary's Gang, GQ, Sylvester, ESG ("Moody"), all the big disco groups of the time. I particularly remember that they played the whole A-side of Village People's "Y.M.C.A." album. It was all beat-matched. I was a kid back then and didn't realize that disco was gay. I just liked the music.

As disco died, LBS morphed into a New Wave station by the early '80s. That's when it really got good. All the new music that was coming out of the USA and UK had a home on LBS. Off the top of my head, I remember them playing Missing Persons, Heaven 17, The Psychedelic Furs, Adam and the Ants, New Order, Shriekback, The Fixx, Scritti Politti, Bow Wow Wow, P.I.L., XTC, Gary Numan, The Cure, Kraftwerk, Martha and the Muffins, Suburban Lawns, Haircut 100, Tears for Fears, Duran Duran, Lords of the New Church, Romeo Void, Translator, The Go-Go's, The Motels, early U2 ("I Will Follow"-era) on and on. Mind you, this was back when these bands were all brand new.

There were some bands that were so obscure that you can't even find them on the Web today. Try Googling Combo Audio for example (a Police sound-alike band with a black bass player).

There was also a New Wave show on TV called "MV3" that used to show videos. It actually ran on the black TV station, TV 62. This was way before Detroit got cable. Only people out in the country had MTV at that time. Because of this show, LBS, and the early Prince ("Dirty Mind" and "Controversy"-era) influence, there were a lot of black New Wavers in Detroit. I was one of them.

People today can never get their heads around the fact that Detroit was once super-cool like that. It was NOT a "murder capital," it was a great place to live and grow up back then.

Towards the mid-'80s, there was talk of WLBS changing formats. I remember me and some friends piling into my friend Eric's car and driving up to the station in Mt. Clemens for a "Save WLBS" rally. There were like 100 people there. Mt. Clemens is basically the middle of nowhere. I haven't been back there since.

I think it was '85 or so that LBS finally gave up the ghost. It turned into a classic rock station. As if Detroit needed another one.

When I got my own show in '87, I used to do WLBS tribute nights. WDET's library had all the stuff that LBS used to play. I should have stolen all those records from the station. Lord knows where they are now.

Electrifying Mojo was good and all, but there were other influential radio shows and stations and clubs as well (WDRQ, WDET, the club Todd's and its resident New Wave DJ Charles English, and on the house music side, Ken Collier among others). All of these factors and great people helped to create the open-minded musical landscape that birthed Detroit Techno, and possibly the reason that there will be no more generations of true Detroit Techno artists, is because that world is gone now.

It's this deep and eclectic musical history, though, that keeps Detroit electronic music artists in the forefront and relevant.

Back to Basics.

Track of the Day: "Danseparc (Everyday is Tomorrow)" Martha and the Muffins

Taking a break from this commission art piece. It's going faster than I expected. I should be done soon. My client will be pleased. Also got a track going that I'm gonna record tonight, a slow one. Also getting a new album together. Yes, you heard it here first. CD only. Just doing everything at once.

Oh, and alanoldham.com is coming along great. I've seen the designs. Plus I've been doing new illustrations for it. Online soon.

Nothing's really grabbing me, nothing going on. No excitement. It's wintertime, though, what do I expect. All I'm into is old stuff at the moment. Old movies, old music. Stuff I didn't get around to back in the day, or stuff I haven't seen/listened to in a long time.

For example, I was driving around with Steve Tang the other night and he had his iPod plugged in. It was all Jesus and Mary Chain, The Smiths, solo Morrissey, Sonic Youth, Massive Attack, Slowdive.

And awhile back, Giaxia turned me on to Chapterhouse, this shoegaze band from the early '90s that completely got past me before. Now "Whirlpool" is one of my favorite albums.

I've gotten too old to be trendy, man. It's all about what moves me. What's good is good, period. Back to basics.

PS: I wish I had time to get a live band together, that would be the shit. Me fronting a band. A real band, no electronics. Can you imagine? Go on tour in Europe and get paid. Fuck, if Westbam can do it, so can I.

PPS: "Domino" comes out on DVD this month. I can't wait. The latest from Tony Scott. He's like the baddest commercial filmmaker out there right now. Visual style just killin'. "Man on Fire" was classic. He's like in his mid to late 60s and this is his best stuff ever.