InThePit www.inthepit.co.uk
issue #001 AUGUST
WHEATUS VERSAILLES DEAR SUPERSTAR BLITZKRIEG’S 30TH ANNIVERSARY INTERVIEWS: circa survive little fish william control
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welcome
w w w.i nt hepit .c o.u k Welcome to the first official issue of InThePit. You may notice this is in a very different format to your normal music webzine because of the format. The reason behind this is we wanted a way to not only bring you reviews and interviews and kick ass imagery but to do so in a format which made sense, looks awesome and had a easy peasy interface. In this first issue you can read interviews and reviews from amazing bands we have had the oppurtunity to see from June and July. A huge thank you to everyone who has contributed throughout these last 8 months, taking this from a simple website to what it is now., this includes past photographers/ reviewers and editors. This wouldnt be what it is without you all. Another huge thank you to all the promoters, managers and bands who have given up precious time in their day to work with us. We hope you all like the new look InThePit website and any bands that want to be featured in this magazine please feel free to contact any of the following emails chantelle@inthepit.co.uk bands@inthepit.co.uk cheers Christeeny (photographer/co-editor) <3
contents 4. CIRCA SURVIVE 8. LITTLE FISH 18. WHEATUS 24. DEAR SUPERSTAR 28. VERSAILLES 38. WILLIAM CONTROL 48. BLITZKREIG 30TH ANNIVERSARY
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Circa Survive momentum. Feels like it’s going in that direction. In The Pit – Awesome. Well, you’re latest album ‘Blue Sky Noise’ is due for release here on the 26th, that’s just over a week away now. Can you give us a few words on what to expect from it?
Circa Survive Interview 18/07/10 King Tuts, Glasgow By Craig Ferguson In The Pit – Well, first off thanks for taking the time to talk to us. Brendan – Yeah man. In The Pit – Welcome to Glasgow. How are you finding it so far? Brendan – Great man. I think we’ve been here 4 times. I always really like coming to Scotland. There’s just something, I dunno. There’s something like a homey kinda vibe. In The Pit – This is your last UK show until September. How have you found your time here so far? Brendan – Yeah, it’s been good. I mean, we had a lot of just like, technical problems. Some equipment was broken and just some bullshit like that. Otherwise, the shows have been fun, the kids have been really cool and it just feels good in general. We’re really excited to get over here more often and try to really build some
Brendan – Yeah, I mean, if you haven’t heard the band before, I guess it’s hard to know exactly what to say. I never know how to describe our band to the people but it’s definitely just a rock record you know? We definitely wanted to make sure that the songs that rocked do that a little more abrasively this time and like they’re more in your face and some of the other songs that are supposed to be moody are like more vibey and wanted to make sure they were more like that. So we tried to cater to the extremes more and I think with the production that the record ended up having, it definitely turned out to be our best record and I know that a lot of other bands say that shit after every time they make a record but I didn’t really feel like that after our last record you know, but I definitely feel like that now. In The Pit – So, when you come back to the UK in September, do you feel that it will be much different due to your album being out then compared to now? Are you looking forward to it and will you be playing more songs from the album? Brendan – I hope so. I mean, what I hope to gain from the record being out, is there being larger crowds you know? Like, we’re playing smaller venues right now and like I said, we’re really just building the crowd right now but the people that were there were singing the songs from the record really loud already even though it’s not out yet. In The Pit - *Laughing* so they’ve been downloading it? Brendan – That’s fine! We’d much rather have them coming to the shows and singing along. That’s the important thing to us.
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In The Pit – They’ll probably buy it when it comes out anyway because of the artwork. Brendan – Yeah, good fucking artwork. In The Pit – Yeah, you have that artist that’s done all of your album covers including the cover for ‘Blue Sky Noise’? Brendan – Yeah, yeah. In The Pit – You actually wrote ‘Blue Sky Noise’ in a cottage in Pennsylvania. You went away from everything and just, Brendan – Actually, the house is only twenty five minutes from our houses so we stayed at all of our home. In The Pit – So, being away from distractions must have been different. How was it? Brendan – Yeah, I mean there were like a lot of different stages that the record went through. The first stage was just us all writing together there in what is basically our home. Um, and then that took like a year and a half which is the longest we’ve ever taken writing. We just wanted to make sure everything was perfect and everyone was really happy and then the next stage was going to Toronto and rehearsing those songs with our producer. We went from like a wilderness setting to like, a total industrial setting and worked on it there and that had some effect on the songs. Then we went to record it somewhere else in Toronto. So yeah, we went through a lot of different stages. In The Pit – You also had a lot of built up, old material for this from previous records, didn’t you? Brendan – Yeah, we did. I’m not sure how much of it we really used but when we went to record we had something like sixty things that could have become songs you know? And thirty of them were pretty good. We took a lot of input and we wanted to make sure our with our label that we were putting the best songs on the record cause we didn’t want to come to a place where they didn’t like the record we were putting out. So, we took a lot of input
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from the producer David Bottrill and tried to make sure that we were all on the same page about the record that we wanted to make and I think it really helped to have the people to bounce the ideas off of. In The Pit – So with all of this information combined: is this the main reason for your happiness with this record in particular? Brendan – Really, the reason that I am the most happy with the record is because we really worked hard to try and make sure that everyone was happy with it. We tried to make sure that everybody had kind of got input when they wanted to have input. Everybody in the band brought music to the table and even if we weren’t sure it would work, we didn’t say that. We just worked on it and made sure we really gave it a chance and the entire process overall was very patient and then that feeling of patience led to the outcome that we didn’t feel like we rushed anything or that we short changed a certain aspect of the record. We came out feeling like, “Alright, we did our best and this is what our best is.” In The Pit – You’ve mentioned before that you believe your fans to be half of Circa Survive. How do you feel that that sense of gratitude with the fans helps you connect during live shows? Brendan – I think any band with..*background noise of people* Are they making out? Everyone - *Laughing* Brendan – I’m sorry. I think that any band should feel like they have a symbolic relationship with their fans. I mean, you’re both holding each other up. The most basic way I can describe it is: If I’m having a really bad night on stage and I don’t feel like I’m paying well, as long as the crowd are having a great time, then I can have a great night. But if I’m having a bad time and the crowd is just there staring at us, then I’m having a really fucking bad night. So I can easily walk out to the fans after the show and they’re like “Oh that was amazing!” but in my mind
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In The Pit – You’ve mentioned before that you believe your fans to be half of Circa Survive. How do you feel that that sense of gratitude with the fans helps you connect during live shows? Brendan – I think any band with..*background noise of people* Are they making out? Everyone - *Laughing* Brendan – I’m sorry. I think that any band should feel like they have a symbolic relationship with their fans. I mean, you’re both holding each other up. The most basic way I can describe it is: If I’m having a really bad night on stage and I don’t feel like I’m paying well, as long as the crowd are having a great time, then I can have a great night. But if I’m having a bad time and the crowd is just there staring at us, then I’m having a really fucking bad night. So I can easily walk out to the fans after the show and they’re like “Oh that was amazing!” but in my mind I’m like “Man, I messed up so many little things.” But then they just made my day by saying that. In The Pit – You must have a great interaction with the fans during shows in smaller venues such as this one. How do you feel playing these small venues in comparison to the larger ones you would play in say, America? Brendan – It’s different. Sometimes it can be amazing and most of the time I love playing small venues cause of the intimacy and because the type of front man Anthony is, he gets right up in the crowd and he’s part of the crowd to go berserk with. So the first show that we played over here in Cardiff was amazing. There’s something really special about playing Wales and Scotland. The crowd seems a little cooler. In The Pit – So better than England yeah?! Brenadan - *Laughing* But uh, they seem more energetic and I don’t know why it is. Our Wales crowds are fucking awesome and it was just a tiny venue and I loved that. Wondering things like “What’s going to happen?” Kids could be falling on the stage. But, playing King Tuts there’s a barrier there. Having that barrier there creates a barrier between us and the crowd, like a literal barrier. In The Pit – So, you’ll be looking forward to heading home soon. You’re heading back to America in a couple of days right? Brendan – Yeah. I mean this is like our fourth of fifth time over here and it’s starting to become comfortable. I mean, I can go anywhere in America and it feels like home basically because we’ve been there so much and I’m starting to know the areas around here when we tour but it’s not too bad, but it’s always night to get home. No matter what. In The Pit – Well, thanks very much for spending the time with us! Have a great show! Brendan – No problem, thanks a lot man. photos and interview : Craig Ferguson
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FISH INTERVIEW AND REVIEW BY NICK MURPHY PHOTOS BY CHRISTEENY.COM
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Nick: How are you? JuJu: We're great, bloody hyper! Nez: As you can probably tell. JuJu: We're really well, we're really excited, we've got a lot of exciting things to talk about. How are you? Nick: I'm not bad at all. For anyone who isn't aware of you guys, how would you describe your sound? Nez: Napalm Death? no, who do we sound like? Nick: Yeah, I hate putting genre labels on bands, so... JuJu: We always have that problem, I think we sound like a contemporary seventies band, almost. With the Hammond, and rock styles. We're quite natural and raw. We have songs, we write the music around the voice, what the song is about and I think that's quite the natural thing about the seventies, there's no loops, no tricks, there's no backing track. It's just rock. Nez: I'd say very english, late sixties, seventies rock. Me and Jules have different musical camps, but we're pretty much the same also. Our sound is quite post Led Zepplen-ish... JuJu: Little Fish ish Nick: How long have you guys been a band? How long have you been around? Nez: We popped up out of the ocean... JuJu: We were really hungry, we were living at the bottom of the sea and we were starving. There's fuck-all down there. Nez: Then this big keep-net came along... JuJu: And dragged us out into the Carribean. We had a kite. We tied ourselves to the kite, and landed in Oxford about four years ago... Nez: So that's how we got to Oxford. JuJu: We've been going for about four years, but it's the last couple of years is when we really made a big push for it and gigged pretty much relentlessly.
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Nick: How’s this tour going? JuJu: Really exciting, we met Debbie Harry out in America when we were with Courtney Love. We were very lucky again, that Courtney Love asked us to do a few shows. We did 2 shows in LA, 2 shows in New York, sold out big venues. Debbie Harry came to see courtney Love and caught our set before the show. Coincidentally Blondie were touring the UK and she asked us to support. She spoke about us on her blog.. Her producer sent it over the blog where she said she went to see this band called Little Fish, and so we started mailing eachother and got it together. We didn’t have much to do that month and now we have loads to do! And it’s all really fun, they’re really nice, they’re a really nice band. Nez: They’re a great crew. JuJu: And we’re having a good time. Nick: Is there anything interesting on Debbie’s Rider? JuJu: fresh Coffee! You should have asked us about Courtney Love’s rider.. Nick: Oh yeah? what is the most interesting thing that’s been on her rider? JuJu: Courtney Love’s rider was hugely insane, like a whole house, from an iron... anything you might possibly need. Stacks of food. Didn’t you nab one of those? Nez: I’ve stocked up on my beer for this christmas from the last Courtney Love show. I thought “that’d do nicely”... and fresh flowers. Nick: probably won’t last as long as the beer JuJu: We can put them in my human freezer... Nick: Linda Perry [of 4 Non Blondes] personally signed you to the label, what was it like being snapped up by her? JuJu: I didn’t know who Linda Perry was. I made a conscious effort not to find out who she was either. We’re so used to being told that something’s going to happen, and it doesn’t happen that you end up not believing anything until it happens. I didn’t do any research. knowing her now, I know what she does. When I found out who she was, after flying to America and seeing her studio, I felt pretty privelaged and lucky, and honoured really. How do you feel, Nez? Honoured? Nez: Absolutely, I think we’re really lucky to end up with one of the best producers and one of the best songwriters in the last ten, fifteen years.
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She heard about us through a friend of mine who was doing A&R at the time. Beleive it or not, she actually cancelled her holiday in Hawaii to come over to check us out in a small venue in Oxford... JuJu: About the size of this dressing room... Nez: and then she flew us out to the states and just worked eachother out, really. We just jelled, and then we got made an offer which we gladly took and that was that. Nick: So, your new single is called “Am I Crazy?”... what’s that about then? Nez: she wrote this... JuJu: Well, I think it’s a very common thing to fall in love with someone and feel like a complete idiot. Constantly waiting for them to call you, thinking about them at night, not being able to sleep, and that person not loving the person in return. So its kind of about somebody saying “I’m crazy to fall in love with you, I didnt plan it”. you don’t plan to fall in love with someone. the song is about this frustration and excitement, but also the anger at them. Nick: And did you have fun shooting the video? JuJu: Loads of fun! we did what we do. We recorded the album very much live. There’s pretty much no overdubs, there’s no cutting, it’s all straight and old-school. Like our video, it was like “right, shoot, go” and we did what we do on stage. it was really exciting to go to LA and record it. Nez: The video of us two only took us 2 hours to do, from setting up to finishing playing, that was us done. We captured the vibe and stuff. It was a lot of fun. Hillarious crew. Nick: Did you have much creative input for the video? JuJu: We got sent through various storyboards, and we liked the idea of it. There wasn’t loads of choice and you are under certain constraints when you’re signed so you have to give and take. We added some bits which were ours, but on thewhole it was the director’s idea. Nez: I think he got it bang on, actually. He really understood what the song was about and that’s why I think it’s worked out really well. It was really really warm as well, there was a spotlight about 3 inches from my back.. Nick: When is the album due out?
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JuJu: Good question! if you get this right, you’ll be the only ones who ever get it right! Our album has been delayed and moved forward and backward so many times, the current date is the 9th of August. It was going to be September but it’s been moved forward. It’s called Baffled & Beat, it’s our first album and we’re really excited, even though were now looking forward to the next one. Chris: Did it take long to record the album? JuJu: No, it only took about three weeks. We were literally writing songs in the morning and recording them in the evening. I was sent to a room and everybody was waiting for a song. We’d practice it then we would record it. Linda was so “Not Pop” with us, she was so Hardcore Rock. She may as well have had... well, actually she did have a baseball bat! We didn’t have any pre-production, we just went straight in and did it. It’s quite a big shock when it’s your first album, because you’re learning the whole process. Now we’ve done an album, I think we’ve got a bit more confidence, we know what we sound like. The reason it’s called “Baffled & Beat” is cos of the whole whirlwind process. That’s our life in the back of the van. Nick: So will you be touring to promote the album? is that on the cards yet? JuJu: Hopefully we will be. Definately keep an eye out. Nez: We’ve got some fun gigs coming up though. Nick: Are you supporing anyone interesting? Nez: We’re doing a show in Finsbury park with The Doves and Scouting for Girls, and a few festivals. Chris: Sonisphere? Nez: yes! Chris: I’ll see you there! JuJu: It’s quite heavy for us, but we’ll try and pull out some more heavy stuff. Nez: One of my favourite bands of all time is headlining the night we play. Iron Maiden. gotta be done. Nick: Okay, last question; What’s the biggest animal you could have in a fight?
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Nez: I could probably beat a collie up, I reckon. I could kick a collie to death. JuJu: That’s horrid! ...I could kick a pigeon, I hate pigeons. Nez: Yeah, they’re like rats with wings Nick: Anything planned before the set? JuJu: We’re gonna go fishing. Nick: In the tyne??
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Oxford’s Little Fish make a hell of a noise for a two piece (plus their Hammond-toting friend). They filled the huge hall of the O2 academy tonight, and quickly made friends with the crowd awaiting Blondie. Singer and guitarist JuJu let rip with her enormous voice and attitude, reminding me of a cross between PJ Harvey, Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ Karen O and Jefferson Airplane’s Grace Slick. Playing to a crowd of 100% Blondie fans with a repertoire and attitude like Little Fish’s would be daunting, but they took it in their stride and had the audience cheering. Having been invited on tour by Debbie Harry herself , Little fish were only too happy to give the crowd a fantastic set. It was only a shame it was over so quickly. It was a set of fast paced songs which I could have enjoyed for far longer, Here’s hoping we can get Little Fish back to Newcastle when their album is released. If you’re at Sonisphere, Truckfest, Redfest or The Trees Festival this summer, check them out! meanwhile get yourself to www.myspace.com/littlefishmusic or www.littlefishmusic.com for all sorts of fishy awesomeness. -NM http://littlefishmusic.com/ http://www.myspace.com/littlefishmusic http://twitter.com/littlefishmusic http://www.facebook.com/littlefishmusic
Little Fish’ new single ‘Am I Crazy’ is available on itunes now
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WHEATUS 10TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR Article and photographs by: Lisa Marie Patterson
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inthepit.co.uk was so excited to see Wheatus back on the road with their ‘10th Anniversary Tour’ just as much as the other 400 and something fans crammed into the Newcastle Academy 2 on Saturday 19th June 2010. The show started with Brendan (vocals and guitar) welcoming the crowd and explaining how there was not a set list for night, and for the crowd to choose what songs were to be played! I will be honest, I only know one song from Wheatus, but was pleasantly suprised at what the show had to offer, and there was something for everyone with No Happy Ending, a grungy tone with a strong introduction, filling the venue to its loud robust sounds, to an up close and personal acoustic version of Sunshine with Kevin Garcia (drums) setting down the beat, with a tamborine inviting the front row to contribute, to Brendan offering vocals and guitar. The show itself was crowd orientated, in Brendan’s words ‘it’s down to you (fans) we are still here able to play, and we thankyou’. Newcastle were full of demands wanting everything from bass solo’s after seeing Matt Milligan’s beautifully designed bass trio, two upright abstract designs, and one ornate wooden bass...which obviously switched to drum solos (just for the hell of it) to Hit Me With Your Best Shot, which the band confessed to not having played in five years!!! The show itself was excellent, everyone seemed like a friend, instead of the band/crowd divide, and didn’t want the show to end...it did, but on a high with their hit single Teenage Dirtbag, followed by an encore! Since seeing this show, I have downloaded their new work - which Wheatus invite you to do, downloading the album is free but contributions are welcome www.wheatus.com 9/10 if you get a chance to see Wheatus, please do, you will not regret it! Set List for Newcastle O2 Academy 2 Saturday 19th June 2010 1. Unknown (suggestions please...) 2. A Little Respect 3. Hey Mr Brown 4. Wannabe Gangstar 5. Hump’em ‘n’ Dump’em 6. No Happy Ending 7. Sunshine (acoustic version) 8. Freak On 9. Hit Me With Your Best Shot 10. bmx 11. Teenage Dirtbag encore - 3 more songs
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PHOTOS : LISA MARIE PATTERSON REVIEW : NICK MURPHY
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DEAR SUPERSTAR
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Worries about trouble from the day’s EDL protests kept the town centre quiet on Saturday, which was a damn shame as everyone missed the most rock night of their lives. Dear Superstar played their hearts out for the dedicated fans who had come out regardless, and rewarded their devotion with a spot-on set of dirty metal. Singer Micky Satiar whipped up the crowd and rocked hard despite being in agony from a smashed knuckle, bumping fists with the front row regardless. Opening with their current single “Brothers in Blood”, Dear Superstar had the audience off the ground from the offset, and kept them there for the entire set. Dear Superstar deserve a bigger venue, and a far bigger crowd. Check them out if you get a chance to. Tour dates can be found at
www.myspace.com/dearsuperstar
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Versailles -Philharmonic Quintet-
REVIEW : CHANTELLE JADE BURNS PHOTOS : CHRISTEENY
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Versailles [Jubilee Tour] @ O2 Academy Islington, London 30/06/2010 Japanese rock artists aren’t regular when it comes to global tours that include the UK, but when they grace us with their presence, you never forget the shows, shows that enchant and bewitch the audience. The few shows that I’ve attended, including Miyavi’s latest tour, have not compared with the melodic show of Versailles, the Japanese metal band formed in 2007. Versailles; also known as Versailles -Philharmonic Quintet- in the USA, was originally composed of Kamijo doing vocals, Hizaki and Teru on guitar, Yuki on drums and finally, the sadly missed Jasmine You; one of the three original founders of the band, on bass guitar. Versailles are well known for their renaissance-esque attire and their unique musical styling, which is considered as ‘Symphonic and Neo-classical metal’, with a vast amount of ‘Power Metal’ surging throughout their albums. When approaching the queue many fans were dressed in stylized clothing similar to that of the members of Versailles, the females that were dressed in this way looked similar to Hizaki, the males were dominantly in coordination with Kamijo. The crowd were bursting with anticipation for an hour when there was a notice about the prohibiting of videoing and photographing the band. I understand and agree with the band preferring for the audience not to take photos, they feel to fully appreciate the enjoyable performance they were about to display, they needed all of the people to focus their attention on the stage. When the lights dimmed ready for the entrance of the band members, the crowd was vivacious and spirited, and they screamed until their throats were dry. Firstly Yuki strode across the stage, demanding all attention and revving the crowd ready for the other members. Teru confidently sauntered across to his performance position, smiling and reaching for the crowd. Next to approach the stage was Hizaki who entered twirling alluringly from left to right and taking up his his position and took his instrument. The 2010 tour stand in bassist Masashi came onto stage quietly just before the slight pause which was followed by the crowd crying out in hysteria when Kamijo graced the stage. Fans held their roses firmly in the air as God Palace began to vibrate the entire academy. Between every 3 or 4 songs, Kamijo would speak to the crowd with his cute random speeches and would introduce the next song. The crowd loved hearing him speak English which is something that few foreign artists tend to do well.
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When it came to the encore, Versailles chose to perform two of their arguably most popular ballads, The Red Carpet Day and The Revenant Choir. Hizaki constantly twirled and Teru constantly rocked out whereas Yuki was drumming whilst standing up in the odd section of the latter song. Introducing each member individually, the band rounded off the show superbly and Kamijo even introduced the sadly missed but not forgotten Jasmine, and he reached for the sky when he said it, which was a heart-warming tribute to the late musician. The fans adored the live and loved the way Kamijo and Yuki shook hands with some of the people who had been watching from the front row, and the band proceeded by the throwing of roses, plectrums and other small personal band objects. This tour is marking the release of the new album ‘Jubilee’. The album includes bass work from both Jasmine and Hizaki and could be regarded as their worldwide debut as the album is their first to be an international release. On a scale of 1 – 10, I’d rate this live concert as a 10/10. I’ll definitely tell people about their music and the performance they gave. The lighting was fab, the attire was amazing, the performance demanded attention and the audience truly enjoyed themselves. I’d recommend listening to Versailles because they’re a unique sound and you’d be surprised at how catchy the songs are, they reach out to you. Their set list was as follows: 1. God Palace 2. 月下香 (Gekkakou) 3. Zombie 4. After Cloudia 5. Prince 6. The Umbrella of Glass 7. Aristocrat’s Symphony 8. Shout & Bites 9. Amorphous 10. Serenade 11. Ascendead Master 12. Princess Encore 13. The Red Carpet Day 14. The Revenant Choir
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william control Newcastle sees Wil Francis roll up with his alter ego William Control, this is the first night of a two week tour...inthepit Magazine take the spooky journey from the Newcastle O2 Academy foyer to the dark and dingy bowels of the club, towards the back door, to be warmly greeted by a very charasmatic character, hanging around the back door fire exit, sporting fifties inspired clothing and hairstyle, puffing on a cigarette, with a can of Red Bull in the other hand...it begins...
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PHOTOGRAPHER : LISA MARIE PATTERSON REVIEW : CHANTELLE JADE BURNS
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Welcome to ‘inthepit’ Magazine, William Control. To begin with tell me more about the William Control project, and why did you decide to do this alone? Wil Francis: “erm, I dunno, I guess it’s a little throwback eighties, like you know a homage to the darker retro rock shit of the eighties”
inthepit Magazine: So is it something you’ve wanted to do personally? Wil Francis: “I wouldn’t say it was something I wanted to do, its not a band that I set out
to, I didn’t tell myself..ahhh I’m going to put together a band, I just started writing songs like that, I guess because it’s the music that I like, you know, but it’s really a kinda weird project, it’s not a regular band you know, a regular band you get together with four guys or however many people then play songs, you might play a certain kind of music because you want to be in that certain scene or whatever. With William Control it’s really organic you know just kinda happened, it was just the kinda music that came out”
inthepit Magazine: So this is the first night of the UK tour, how do you feel about the tour with the recent launch of your album ‘Noir’ ?
Wil Francis: “Yeah I’m excited for the tour, I always love coming to the UK, it’s a beautiful place and it’s sort of like touring, I like to see out, and the beautiful weather you know”. inthepit Magazine: Do you get to see a lot of the UK? Wil Francis: “Yeah we do, I always make a point to go out and visit places. It’s better then staying backstage or whatever”.
inthepit Magazine: So this is the second album from William Control, is there anything different that you’ve done with the second album?
Wil Francis: “Nope, not really, I kinda just took the best parts of the first album that I liked, and elaborated from there. There’s not really a big difference you know, it’s the same style of music. I’m not going to come up with something that has never been done before you know, I’m not going to reinvent the wheel in music, you know I’m not a prodige musician I know that, I don’t think really you know there are not many people who are creative enough to reinvent something that, and capitalise on tour, all we want to do is make music that the kids can sing along to”.
inthepit Magazine: A fan from your forum stated that your albums represent a story, and each song within that a chapter of that story. Would there be any plans to maybe take the William Control idea further and turn it into a book or movie?
Wil Francis: “Yeah I mean I would love to do something like that you know, all it really comes down to at the end of the day is money. Money in the music industry is drying up, it’s kinda hard but the concept to make a film or a short film, but it’s how to do we go about making it in a way that it looks cool, but to be creative with a few hundred dollars?”
inthepit Magazine: The videos you’ve made have a fantastic concept to them...
Wil Francis: “Ha ha, thanks! Yeah well I have input in all of them, the ideas for the first video I wrote the concept for it, the second video was prose, it was the first chapter of a book, but you can’t do a full book in a three minute video it’s quite difficult”.
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inthepit Magazine: Is the William Control character taken from a real individual? Wil Francis: “Erm, I like to think of this project more as cinematic literature, it’s like in the sort of the way you explain about how you said before about the concept being a book or a movie, the songs are like scenes. The letter found on the last chapter mentioned in the journal kind of sets off what this album is gonna be about. William Control is more like a character that I have playing inside of my skull you know?” inthepit Magazine: What are your influences musically? Wil Francis: “Well musically yeah but it’s more in the older I get the less music that I listen to, and the more I read, and the more films I watch so I guess influcences, it has to be a lot of literature like Oscar Wilde, Will Bear like kinda black comedy, weird type of things”. inthepit Magazine: What are you listening to right now...Ipod, album, cd? Wil Francis: “Ah, ha ha. A lot of vinyl, Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, erm”. inthepit Magazine: have you got a favorite song by either artist? Wil Fransic: “Um, no, there are a lot of good ones, I can’t really pick a favorite”. inthepit Magazine: I hear you listen to Jonny Cash, has this influenced your music? Wil Francis: “I really like the way, I really like how punk rock Jonny Cash was, you know in regards to he didn’t really follow the rules of what you’re supposed to do as a pop artist”. inthepit Magazine: So sort of a rebel? Wil Francis: “Yeah he was a sort of a rebel” inthepit Magazine: So what other artists would you colaborate with past and present? Wil Francis: “Um, maybe Wesley Willis, he’s a great song writer, past that would be my past, and then present ah Daniel Johnston”. inthepit Magazine: Are there any plans with William Control in the future, and will there be more music? Wil Francis: “Ah, there’s like, yeah, ah I don’t know, I could get hit by a bus tomorrow, who knows? I know that I want to play music, make music, make records, I love making records, so I’ll give it a go for as long as anyone will have me”. inthepit Magazine: Is there anything you’d like to say to your fans? Wil Francis: “Fuck yeah!!” (laughs) Wil didn’t tell us what he wanted to say, but he did tell them during the show, where he spent most of the time on the dancefloor with the fans, and inviting them onstage too! Not being a fan of Aiden myself, I was pleasantly suprised by the show and music, and would definately go to see William Control’s explosive yet intimate show.
INTERVIEW : LISA MARIE PATTERSON / CHANTELLE JADE BURNS
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William Control @ O2 Academy Newcastle, Academy 2 15/07/2010 Recently I was excited to hear that the vocalist of Aiden, William ‘Wil’ Francis, was touring with his project William Control and that they would be hitting Newcastle’s o2 Academy. Eager to be there and excited in general, it was great to meet the man behind the band and hear the influences that have went into their latest album, Noir. I got myself into a great place to see the show, a spot I usually steal situated to the left of the stage. After seeing the unfortunate technical difficulties with the 1st band and some pre-performance problems with the second, I was anticipating a rocky show from William Control, but to thankfully it went smoothly, which was good with Newcastle being their first UK date in this tour. As we were waiting for William Control to come on stage, I noticed that the crowd was eager and that more people had entered the academy. These people arrived around 9pm and are likely to be dedicated fans that didn’t care for the support bands, only for the main act. When the lights went down, the ceiling lights which are usually white became neon red coloured and the audience were bouncing with excitement. When Wil came onstage, he held the microphone out to the audience and the devout fans screamed at him. The lighting for the gig was unusual, they had what appeared to be lighting that gave a strobe effect, the lights switched between being red and white. Wil was very stage-active, always climbing over the barrier and interacting with the crowd, handing them the microphone and gathering them in huddles. The audience loved the attention and it was clear that Wil was enjoying himself. Wil stared deeply into the eyes of the audience and with that the first song finished. Just from listening to the first song, the whole atmosphere changed as the attendees applauded vigorously. Mid way through the performance, Wil daringly invited the entire barrier and people close to the sides of the stage to climb on stage for the entirety of a song. Wil was sharing hugs, allowing others to sing into the mic, having his picture taken whilst singing and was also taking photos of himself and people on their mobiles and cameras. Everyone on stage cheered like crazy and thoroughly enjoyed themselves; one girl was close to tears. It’s the first time I’ve saw a band pull a stunt like that but the crowd loved it. After this charade, Wil shouted to the crowd ‘You guys are Fan-fucking-tastic!’. In general, the live was pretty good. There was plenty of stage presence coming from this quirky band and though it wasn’t full capacity, the gig was snug and intimate, which Wil appeared to enjoy. The atmosphere was great and the attendees certainly got to see a great show! They were non-stop waving their arms and constantly reaching for the energetic vocalist. I’d definitely recommend dropping in on these guys whilst they’re on tour, really nice people and great performers. William Control have a MySpace page which is below. http://www.myspace.com/williamcontrol
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BLITZKRIEG
30TH ANNIVE
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ERSARY REVIEWS BY CHANTELLE JADE BURNS
IMAGE (C) CHRISTEENY
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IMAGE (C) LISA MARIE PATTERSON
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Being the opening act is never an easy job, most people are their to se the headliners, there was a decent enough crowd at the academy when ‘Beyond the Grave’ took to the stage and more people seemed to be straming in throughout their set, which was disapointing. These guys play like seasoned proffessionals, despite being together for what seems very little time in ‘band’ years. In their time they have managed to tour with the likes of Cradle of filth and are wuite high up in the bill at the Big Finger Festival in October playing with the likes of Forever and INME. I saw the band play the academy 2 several years ago and they have definatly matured and mellowed out, in a ‘metal’ way of course, although the line up has changed a few times since then. Although they were still the heaver of the 4 bands playing tonight. and would have worked well higher up in the bill. The drum solo by Jackson was superb, the band cleared the stage then all lights were on him as he made it look so effortless. This is a guy who lives for drumming. Warwick’s guitar on the acoustic number number accompanied by Adams softer vocals was a uge a huge contrast to their heavy work and on a more commercial level without losing the originality that it needs to be different from the other hundreds and thousands acoustic/ballad types out there. Luke the guitarist hid in the shadows most of the night much to the dismay of the young group of girls standing near me, who wanted to drool over his muscles rather then pay any attention to his awesome guitar skills. The bassist James did look a little lost at times, but managed to pull it together so musically and visually they all worked as a team. Despite this this band were definitely the band of the night to me for overal performance, they live up to the hype and were the most original of the bands that evening. Check these guys out especially if your a fan or Arch Enemy or Killswitch Engage, you will not be disapointed.
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Chaos Asylum @ O2 Academy Newcastle 10/07/2010 When I arrived at the academy, sadly I’d missed the first act Beyond the Grave but gladly a dramatic entrance from Chaos Asylum got me in my gig mood. This wasn’t the local band’s first time appearing at the Academy in Newcastle.
Chaos Asylum entered to some very
dramatic music, which made me think that just maybe they were going to be one of those bands who are grim and melancholy but when the red lighting lit the stage I guessed it was just a regular entrance for a few heavy metal guys. The guys wear old school rock apparel, vocals (Martin) was wearing studded leather pants even though the room was blistering hot; so hot that part way through the drummer removed his top, and some of the other members; including Guy, wore cut-off sleeved tops and denim jackets. With the thundering drums and heavy bass, the audience most definitely enjoyed the opening song these rockers used, reminded me of a young Judas Priest. With the support of the excitable audience, the show got under way. The attendees who were stood at the barrier were enjoying thrashing and head-banging to the resonating bass which appeared to reach even the people at the back of the academy. I was pretty surprised to see the audience age ranging from 15 to 60. I had a feeling that it would be people between mid 30s and late 50s. I noticed that Martin gave the performance his all and even slipped a few jokes into the performance after being handed a condom. I have to say the band members had pretty awesome hair, to have a good heavy metal look you need good hair that’s worthy of head-banging with and looks good when you’re violently nodding to music. The band finished off nicely with a cover of Racer X’s song Superhero. They made it comical by the bassist wearing what appeared to be a wrestling mask, which most certainly entertained the audience. All in all the band gave a fair performance and the audience thoroughly enjoyed themselves. You can check out their MySpace through the link below: http://www.myspace.com/chaosasylummusic
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Vendetta @ O2 Academy Newcastle 10/07/2010 Since the short break after the previous band, I noticed that there was a larger atmosphere in the room and the crowd appeared to be highly anticipating the next band, Vendetta. There was definitely a larger crowd than before and the attendees on the barrier were brimming with energy. The woman behind me who appeared to be demonically possessed seemed to enjoy this band the most out of the three of four bands that I was there for. When it came to instruments, there was a consistent use of heavy drumming on what I would class as a huge drum kit, as well as thorough use of the cymbals. This fuelled the audience to continue with their head banging and as well as the thudding bass which constantly shook the barrier and the floor, something which is always important at a rock gig. The guitarists are world class, Ed box the singer/guitarist was also the man who put this gig together, so a huge thanks to him for making this happen. The whole set was one huge shredfest , team that with a solid bass, drums and vocals and you have the tightest performance of the night. To me the best part of this performance most definitely had to be the song that they dedicated to Ronnie James Dio. Dio passed away a few months back after being in and out of hospital due to the progression of his cancer. This was a nice tribute to a worthy recipient. You could see that the audience appreciated the tribute and thoroughly enjoyed it, which includes the younger people who may not have even known of Dio. Vendetta’s performance was decent and lively and a great way to support the excitement of the crowd ready for Blitzkrieg, the final act of the evening. http://www.vendetta-theband.com/ Review by Chantelle Burns.
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IMAGE (C) LISA MARIE PATTERSON
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Blitzkrieg @ O2 Academy Newcastle 10/07/2010 Blitzkrieg are a band who have been around for 30 years this year and are possibly most notoriously known as one of Metallica’s main influences, stated by the drummer Lars. The band’s self titled song was covered by Metallica and can be found on their Creeping Death EP. Blitzkrieg have had many members leave and return, amounting to at least 20 former band members, which is pretty unusual for a band of 30 years. In tonight’s performance we saw Brian perform what would be deemed as a fantastic live show, always energetic and never stopping. Though he was slightly cringe-worthy, sporting a t-shirt tucked into a pair of skinny jeans and coming out looking like Ozzy Osbourne but he soon removed the glasses which meant it was all good. I noticed the drummer still had no top on; in case you’re wondering he performed with one of the previous bands, and his tattoos were on show. They were pretty awesome tattoos if I do say so.
Anyhow, the performance began with the dimming of lights and a heavy repetitive drum beat, followed by the clapping of the drummer. Within a split second the whole audience were clapping their hands above their heads to the beat set by the drummer. Whilst the audience clapped, the drummer twirled his weapons of choice above his huge drum kit. The rest of the band ran on stage whilst playing their instruments and the vocalist Brian strode across to his microphone and delved straight into singing.
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The bass was definitely the most dominant sound of the night and the bassist himself was most definitely the most energetic of the musicians. The crowd definitely liked this band the most, they were rowdy and there was a larger turnout, which made it appear that people were here specifically for these rockers. The band were posing well for photographers, I saw a fair few fantastic photos that night from just this band. The sound in the academy wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t fantastic, which played the band down in my opinion. The audience played along well with the vocalists requests, clapping when he did and bouncing when he commanded. The audience were great and helped to make the show as good as it was.
All in all, Blitzkrieg performed well for a band of thirty years and I would definitely recommend listening to their music and attending a performance, even just to experience the atmosphere.
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AW, SEPULTURA, THE BLUES, ROLO TOMASSI,
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