Ep.48 - Tarzan Grip (Dom Jones) - a podcast by BPM Pod

Tarzan Grip: pretty original band name there. Not one I would have thought of quickly. What's behind the name though? Is the music something that Tarzan would like? Perhaps the band members love swinging on vines?

Who knows. But certainly one person who has a grip on me is guitarist and singer Dom Jones. Dom and I go back a couple of years, thanks to a shared love for the (currently on hold) Laksmi Bar open mic night. I hosted it a few times, introduced Dom, shared a few drinks and caught coronavirus. (Just kidding, though certainly nowadays it seems like our previous social habits would lead to this unpleasant fate.)

We hung out a fair bit at Laksmi, chatting absolute musical nonsense and congratulating one another for our acoustic musical performances. Yet despite our circles overlapping from time to time, we never found the time to sit down and properly talk music in this podcast format. Until now.

Dom and I had a lovely, long chat that covered a bunch of topics, some of which have been edited out here due to length. However the primary reason for a lot of the editing was the poor sound quality on the episode this week. I am not sure why it was so poor -- it certainly did not sound like this on the call -- but it unfortunately means a lot of our conversation had to be deleted. A shame as you'll never hear the story about Dom, the donkey, the hosepipe and the LSD. Good story, that.

What you will hear a lot about though is how Tarzan Grip are kicking your punk ass, albeit at a leisurely pace, from their 2016 EP Members of the Bored up to their upcoming EP release. Also Dom and I talk about musical beginnings, the past, present and future of Tarzan Grip, how the coronavirus pandemic has affected creativity and what's missing from the life of musicians right now in this weird, fucked up world we're in.

For more Tarzan Grip go to:

• Facebook


• Bandcamp

Also on this episode

I've been feeling quite down and pissed off recently around the pandemic and, unfortunately, a lot of my rage is towards my musician friends.

There are so many people I cherish and respect seemingly going about life as if everything is normal - organising large gigs, packing out small rooms for their vanity projects, travelling to some exotic country and uploading bullshit Instagram pictures. It's driving me insane.

Partly jealous? Maybe, I don't know. But partly annoyed because, in an ongoing pandemic, it's wholly irresponsible and indefensible? Yes.

There's a long, long way to go in fighting this coronavirus fuckery and if we cannot even now stick to what are pretty simple rules, we are fucked. There won't be any kind of normal, let alone a new one.

So please, please, please: wear a mask, wash your hands, keep your distance, avoid unnecessary contact and stay the fuck at home unless you need to go out for something. It's tough on us all - I for one have missed gatherings, weddings, parties, vacations, introducing our newborn daughter to our family - but it is necessary. Your actions affect everyone, not just your little bubble.

For anyone still in doubt, the Startalk Radio podcast on covid (though US focused) puts it pretty bluntly.

Finally, to start the episode, I want to quickly mention the sad passing of Eddie Van Halen, who died at the age of 65 after a battle with throat cancer. Rest in peace, guitar god.

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