All good things must come to an end. After 18 months and a ton of fun, Rob and Clive have decided to shutter the Speakeasy. And what better way to finish than in the same way that we started: two blokes in a room, talking about music?
We’re talking about the art and joy of the single, using the examples that mean an awful lot to us. Expect revelations of a personal nature, and insights into who we are and how we got to be that way.
Settle in. This one’s gonna be emotional.
Yes, it’s been a while since we’ve posted. The reason? Clive and I have been working hard on the Speakeasy. Here’s the first fruit of our labours.
As a bit of a departure from our usual fare, The Speakeasy is proud to present its first foray into radio drama. With help from friends and contributors, Rob and Clive have put together a tribute and/or parody to classic 1930s horse operas. Please to enjoy the pantomimic stylings of the Speakeasy Players in…
THE ADVENTURES OF WHIP CRACKAWAY AND HONCHO THE INDIAN BOY.
Ask nicely, and we’ll never do it again.
The Speakeasy Players:
Clive Ashenden As Whip Crackaway
Rob Wickings as Honcho The Indian Boy
Simon Aitken as Hector Villianous
Alice H. DeVenns as Kitty Carmichael
Rick Bowsing as Pa
with special appearances from Graham Williams as Timmy
and Chris Rogers as The Voice Of Caversham Cigarettes.
The narrator is Kyle Eddley, who appears with the kind permission of Keith Eyles.
The show was written and directed by Rob Wickings, with production and sound design from our friends at All Hallows Post in Reading–‘the finest sound available anywhere’.
Poster design by courtesy of Ashenden Arts.
Clive and Rob are joined again by film-makers Maria Thomas and Simon Aitken as we revisit our May Summer Movie preview. Did we see the films we said we’d watch? Did we like the films we said we’d watch? Did we watch films we didn’t say we’d watch? Did we film watches we didn’t have the time for?
From the game-changing Guardians Of The Galaxy to the tender, insightful Frank, we’ve got the whole gamut of the summer movie experience–summed up.
Direct link: http://traffic.libsyn.com/xhtspeakeasy/October_Movie_Sum-up.m4a
Ooh, yes. We mentioned the music video that Simon directed, starring Maria. Check it out!
The climax of Blake’s 7 Month on Excuses And Half Truths: our gigantic (no kidding, I’ve had to split it in half) retrospect-o-view of the classic British SF show. Join Clive and I, along with Speakeasy regular Keith Eyles and friend of the blog Chris Rogers as we look at the characters, costumes, production values, themes and soooo much more. Settle in, Listenership. We’re heading for Galactic Edge with this one…
All new, kind of different: Excuses And Half Truths Presents Rob & Clive’s Speakeasy!
Live from our new studio in London’s trendy Clerkenwell, The Speakeasy hits its first anniversary with a fresh coat of paint and a shoeshine.
Joining our intrepid podcastanauts on this new and exciting stage in our sonic journey are long time friend of the Speakeasy Simon Aitken, and first-timer Maria Thomas. Together, they share their hopes on the upcoming summer season at the movies, and give us their picks of the films to look out for over the next few months.
Hope you enjoy our new direction.
As is appropriate for a podcast about the concept album, BEHOLD our most epic Speakeasy yet. Over two hours of chat as Rob, Clive and special guest writer Stuart Wright discuss that most derided of formats and find a few gems… and yes, a couple of turkeys.
Also, our 50 Second SoundCloud Challenge covers Skweee, Moombahton and other genres you never knew existed!
Here’s the Spotify playlist of the albums we’re discussing:
and the one album not on Spotify: The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway!
and a link to Stu’s site…
In a break to our regular schedule, I wanted to shout out to some of our X&HTeam-mates. Continue reading Follow Friday
We love documentaries, so it’s only appropriate that we take the most love-drenched time of the year to talk about them. Continue reading The February Speakeasy: We Love Documentaries!
Now that the dust has settled post-Xmas and everyone’s yakking about Sherlock, we can take that all-important bit of critical distance and talk at length about Doctor Who. Continue reading The January Whoseasy
Merry Santa!
As our Xmas gift to you, dearest Listenership, here is the second of our bonus Speakeasies. Clive and I are reading each other’s stories from last year’s Zombie Christmas anthology, The Dead Files Vol. 3 (pick it up at Amazon for the zombie fan in your life). This time around, Clive is reading my story of the best Christmas Day ever: Slayride.
EXCUSES AND HALF TRUTHS 