Music related favourite web sites

Studio 1983 & Live 1988 - 2CD (cat. no.: BP-0012)

http://www.blackpointmusic.cz/shop/product_music_info.html?products_id=7954 (last visited 24. 1. 2010)

"The Black Point music label was formed on January 1, 1990. The first releases comprised solely of cassettes of the Czech underground & parallel scene – music that had been unavailable on the market due to the communist prohibitions on releasing anything of this kind officially. Many a genuine artist, secluded from the poseurs favoured by the communist party, were suddenly on sale. There was a huge interest. Black Point music soon became a small independent label producing quality domestic music beyond the mainstream, regardless of style. ... Today, Black Point is mainly a shop and e-shop, where you can find amazing musical feats from the Czech Republic and worldwide. The label survives, producing several extraordinary discs marked with a black-point logo annually, contemporary or archive. You can order some of the albums through the distribution of British independent label Recommended Records, but most of them are available through us exclusively."

The group profile in English (by François Couture, All Music Guide)

http://www.answers.com/topic/dvouleta-fama (last visited 24. 1. 2010)

"The Czech group Dvouletá Fáma went through two different periods of existence in the 1980s. Trapped in the underground, it seldom performed, recorded rarely, and on the long run had little impact. Yet, the little documents the group left showcase a very original new wave/avant-pop band working in the same vein as Pere Ubu and After Dinner, but in a Czech context..."

Web site of a gnarled songwriter and musician

http://www.konvrzek.cz/ (last visited 30. 11. 2009)

Jiří Konvrzek, multi-instrumentalist and remarkable performer in the Czech alternative scene, performing either as soloist or with the band (KonVRZek), author of characteristic lyrics and melodies. He has recorded two albums, I believe.

Web site of my favourite multi-instrumentalist, composer and sound engineer

http://www.bdrak.com (last visited 29. 1. 2009)

Bob Drake sang and played drums, basses, guitars, banjos etc. with, among others, Thinking Plague, 5uu's, The Science Group and many others; he participated in a number of musical projects and released a set of remarkable solo rfecords. In his studio, established some years ago in Southern France, he prepared - as sound engineer - an enormous amount of excellent recordings of alternative music. This is how he organizes performances of his current group on his web site: "Currently looking for gigs in the west-southwest-northwest USA: livingrooms, garages, toolsheds, backyards preferred though we'll play regular clubs if that's the only choice..." - isn't it a noble and cute way of pursuing a musician's life?

Information about the band (1987-91) on the website of Czech TV (in Czech only)

http://www.ceskatelevize.cz/specialy/bigbit/praha80let/kapely/dvoufama2.php (last visited 23. 2. 2009)

Information about the band (1981-83) on the website of Czech TV (in Czech only)

http://www.ceskatelevize.cz/specialy/bigbit/novavlna/kapely/dvouletafama.php (last visited 23. 2. 2009)

Web site of Archa Theatre, Praha

http://www.archatheatre.cz/ (last visited 1. 2. 2009)

The main site of performances of Divadlo Vizita. Also, the venue of a number of remarkable musical and artistic events in Prague.

Fanclub of Jaroslav Dušek

http://www.fakluska.cz/ (last visited 11. 3. 2010)

Web site of the band Zátory on MySpace

http://www.myspace.com/zatoryband (last visited 1. 2. 2009)

Blog of musical journalist at Respekt.cz - one of the two blogs I keep my eye on

http://klusak.blogspot.com/ (last visited 25. 5. 2010)

Web site of the Czech versatile saxophon player

http://www.jan-stolba.eu/ (last visited 29. 1. 2009)

Czech saxophon player, who is as good in alternative free music as in classical jazz, writing music, poetry and art reviews. Today, he is playing his music mainly with Jan Štolba Quartet; outside of jazz, he has played with Oldřich Janota or with the Dr. Konopný Quartet.

MySpace site of the drummer who used to play with Beefheart (and is still active)

http://www.myspace.com/drumbojohnfrench (last visited 4. 1. 2009)