Pretty In Punk by Kayla Elliott

Fashion for the Fashion impaired

Behind The Brand: The history of Drop Dead

5 Things We Didnt Know About Beau Bokan Of blessthefall

Exhibit A: Save The Gallery

Contents 5 Fans And Designers! 8 Readers Poll - Should Bands Offer VIP Packages? 9 Designer Of The Month - Jack Barakat 11 I Didnt Know That! - Beau Bokan 13 – 16 Festival Survival Guide 29 - 25 Hot Off The Press! 27 – 28 Lights, Camera Action! - Jared Leto as the joker 31- 34 Exhibit A: Save The Gallery 37 – 38 6 Merchandise Items We Didnt See Coming 39 – 51 Posters 53 – 60 Behind The Brand: Drop Dead 61 – 62 Commitment Issues 67 – 70 Live Reviews 71 - 75 Album Reviews 78 10 Essential Tracks of the Month - 10 Fashion Inspired Songs 1

Pretty In Punk Volume 1 Issue 1

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Fans And Designers! If you have snapped a picture with your favourite cloting designer and want to make everyone jealous, send you photo to PRETTYINPUNKMAG@OUTLOOK.COM. Be sure to inclued your NAME, AGE, the MUSICIAN, their BRAND and their BAND.

1. AMANDA, AGE 22 with JACK BARAKAT (JAGK) of ALL TIME LOW 2. OLIVIA, AGE 19 with BLACK VEIL BRIDES (GET MEAN and ASHLEY PURDY INC.) 3. ASHLEY, AGE 16 with SLEEPING WITH SIRENS (ANTHEM MADE) 4. ASHLEY, AGE 17 with PIERCE THE VEIL (KEY STREET)

5. CARLY, AGE 16 with CHRIS FRONZAK (STAY SICK) of ATTILA 6. BETH, AGE 18 with ALEX GASKARTH (AWG) of ALL TIME LOW 7. NEKANE, AGE 19 with ZACK MERRICK (AMERRIKAN) of ALL TIME LOW 8. KARLA, AGE 18 with Chris Fronzak (STAY SICK) of ATTILA

Should Bands Offer VIP Packages?

Readers Poll

There has been a lot of controversy surrounding the bands offering VIP packages of late. With the likes of Sleeping With Sirens and 30 Seconds To Mars charging somewhat extortionate prices for little to no time with the bands. Some bands like All Time Low have a set fan club in place and it’s a draw for who gets the meet and greet, but for others you get to meet the bands after the show.

Musicians Have Their Say Jarrod Alonge

VIP upgrades are a very important part of the concert-going experience. Many argue that the additional charge is unethical and manipulative, but they fail to realize that the investment is worth twice its weight in social media gold. How else are you going to gain the approval of your Instagram followers without that Kellin selfie? What’s the point of even going to shows if you can’t tweet about the awesome side-stage view and how you’re totally friends with Of Mice & Men now? As they've said for decades, you should ALWAYS meet your heroes. My mom’s $120 is yours.

Yes - 46% Daniel Heatherton

It’s rare to meet the band in town - you can ask for a guilt free autograph or photograph with them. As it costs a lot to tour for bands I think it’s an excellent way to increase their revenue streams letting us support them. It’s a shame some folk won’t be-able to afford the cost but does it lessen the queue for them to meet them at other events?

Joe Dexter

My feelings on VIP offers are mixed. It's honestly about making more money, which musicians are already hard pressed for, but at the same time fans get the opportunity to meet their favorite bands and make great new memories which at the end of the day can be priceless. Meeting the fans and making a bit of extra cash? Fuck it, sign me up!

Mavrick Cocking

It gives fans the option to get an exclusive experience with their favourite artists and also the money raised helps bands to continue making music.

No - 54% Jenna Young

I’m saying no with the assumption that you will have to pay extra for these packages, as is normally the way. With a band like All Time Low you have to pay a yearly subscription fee to even be in with a chance to get M&G, even then you might not get to. 30 Seconds To Mars charge £200 for a package that includes barely 2 minutes to actually talk to the band. If bands want to meet the fans it should be judged in a fair way, such as a draw with album pre-orders or the first handful of people to order tickets to the show. The Blackout had the right idea with their final tour, the first people to show up and queue got to go in to meet the guys and then take their place in the venue. This measures a fans dedication not the size of their wallet and realistically is the fairest way to make sure dedicated fans get to meet the band.

Sian Bayliss

Everyone should just go to a gig the same, going to a gig isn’t about meeting the band it’s seeing them play their music live. Meeting them is a bonus you might get after and shouldn’t have to pay for.

Zach Redrup

Bands shouldn’t charge people just to speak to them, other VIP benefits like merch could just as easily be offered as standalone limited-edition items/touronly merch packs with out the addition of paying just to meet the band

Designer Of The Month

Jack Barakat Brand: JAGK

Birth date: June 18, 1988 Band: All Time Low Role in the band: Lead guitarist and backup vocalist Trade Marks: Skunk Hair and Jack Skellington Tattoo

Glamour Kills

Glamour Kills was founded in 2005 by Mark Capicotto (known as Marky) and its logo is a flying pig. The brand weaves together a rock’n’roll style and a chic style and it’s based on music. The first shirt was called When Pigs Fly, which means that anything can happen.

JAGK

After years of wearing and promoting Glamour Kills, in 2008 Jack got asked to create his own clothing line with Marky. He was influenced by brands such as, Atticus (Mark Hoppus and Tom Delonge), Clandestine Industries (Pete Wentz) and DCMA (Good Charlotte). He just had to find a good name for his clothing line. His first thought was the name Jack Attack Clothing but Alex Gaskarth (lead vocalist of All Time Low) told him that JAGK (the first letters of Jack’s first name and the initials of Glamour Kills) was a better name. That’s the

name he decided to keep. January 20, 2009, Jack released his first collection by selling three shirts. A few days after his birthday, on June 30, 2009, he released his second collection with the slogan “Let’s get JAGKed”. On November 16, 2010, he released the fourth collection including the famous Boner shirt. His fifth collection was released on April 13, 2011 and it includes his collaboration with Alex Gaskarth: a shirt called Moon Pigs Love Moon Figs. Jack’s seventh collection, which was released on October 2, 2012, includes the shirt Who The F*@# Is Jack Barakat?.

I Didnt Know That!

Beau Bokan

Brand: Golden Hearts Shine Forever Birth date: November 30, 1981 Band: blessthefall Role in the band: Vocalist Trade Marks: Emo Fringe and Love of all things Batman!

When Beau was born his parents weren’t married

“[My parents] didn’t have the best relationship in the world. They didn’t get along well; they had disagreements, arguments, and everything in between. Not to mention, my dad’s mother resented my mom.”

would learn more and more about everything that happened. The more I learned, the more I HATED my father. I never wanted to see his face ever in my life. I never wanted to know a single thing about him. In fact, I would wish death upon him.“

He is married to singer Lights Valerie Poxleitner

The couple got married in 2012 and in 2014, he became a father with the birth of the couple’s first child, a daughter named Rocket.

soon after! We have mocked up what we would like to think their first ‘date’ looked like.

At their wedding instead of a standard wedding cake they had cake pops (similar to the ones they sell in Starbucks!) These are a really cute and unique

He met his wife Lights at way of doing your wedding cake! Beau has seen his dad a grand a Taking Back Sunday Gig We really loved this when we saw total of twice in his life Beau asked a mutual friend of the photos! Even some of the “To this day, I’ve only met my father twice. As I grew older, I

Lights if they would introduce the two. The couple started dating

staff in the office are thinking about doing this for their big days!

Festival Survival Guide

Every summer there are many music festivals happening across Scotland and the UK, from Reading and Leeds to Download, Slam Dunk to Isle Of Wight. Tickets are in hand, morale is high, it’s festival time! Before you embark on your musical adventure, hit up this to-do list and make sure you Double Check Our Ultimate are ready to roll problem free! Festival packing list opposite! Before you leave

If you’re driving up to the festival make sure everything on your car is in fully working order (You don’t want to be caught on the motorway with a flat tire or something to that effect) so be sure to: change the oil, check the tyre pressure, fill up the tank, check your spare tyre, remove anything you don’t need for the weekend (check everywhere to make sure there are no old open containers, glass bottles, or anything else that may be “festival illegal”) and packing fix-aflat, jumper cables, extra oil, etc. is encouraged. Get there and home safely!

If you have to leave early in the morning make sure to pack the car up the night before to save some time (and stress) the morning of. Make sure you check the fridge so that you don’t leave behind any food items that needed to be kept cold overnight, or anything that could go off over the weekend. Remember to pack the cooler where it can be opened easily to add ice or grab drinks and snacks during the trip. Keep the packing list handy and mark things off only after you have put them in the car. So many times we have ”packed” things only to discover later that we left that pile of stuff at home in our livingrooms.Feel free to rip it out the packing list and take it with you!

Festival Survival Checklist

Camping Supplies □□ Tent □□ Sleeping bag □□ Extra blankets sit on □□ Pillows □□ Air mattress (if you pack this also include pump or extra batteries for the pump, a patch kit for repairs, and sheets to cover it with) □□ Head lamps □□ Lantern □□ Extra toilet paper □□ Bath towels, at least one per person and an extra □□ Chairs □□ Coolers (it’s a good idea to pack a large for drinks and to use as a table and a smaller one for food) □□ Febreeze for the tent □□ Jumper cables □□ Extra car keys (if you are camping with friends you may want to give them extra car keys or keyless entry devices so they can store valuables in the car and have access to it if you get separated) □□ Hand warmers □□ Flag or tiki torches (to mark your campsite so you can find it easily) □□ Ash trays □□ Trash bags □□ Packing List

Food and Cooking Supplies □□ Camping stove □□ Extra gas canisters □□ Biodegradable dish soap □□ Hand sanitizer □□ Pots, pans, spatulas, plastic silverware, plates, napkins (a good rule of thumb is to figure out what kind of food you are bringing and make sure you have the necessary equipment to prepare it) □□ Plastic Cups □□ Straws □□ Ice (fit as much as you can into the coolers, making sure to keep half a bag in the plastic to use for drinks. Ice will be sold on the festival grounds but it will be twice as expensive as in the real world so stock up as much as possible before entering) □□ Condiments (butter, ketchup, mustard, etc.) □□ Plastic Shot glasses □□ Tea, Coffee or instant hot chocolate (don’t forget milk and sugar) □□ Lots of bottled water □□ Food (as far as food goes it’s up to you what to bring but we try and pack things that are easy to snack on as well as meals that can be easily prepared in the dark or with limited supplies.)

PLEASE RIP ME OUT! 14

Toiletries and Personal Items

Clothes and Gear

*As far as clothes go it’s up to you what to pack. Our only suggestions are to bring things you don’t mind getting messed up because □□ Dry Shampoo you will be outside all weekend and things can □□ Face wipes get pretty dirty. Especially when there is any □□ Baby wipes (there are not always convenient chance of rain, make sure to pack extras of showers available so if you refill jugs of everything so that you can put on dry clothes water you can use these to brush your whenever you want to. Also make sure to bring teeth and hair. Baby wipes can help you some long sleeves even if it is a summer festival stay clean throughout the weekend) *please because if you get a little sunburned it can be do NOT dispose of these in porta potties! chilly once the sun goes down. □□ Toothpaste/ Toothbrush / Mouthwash □□ First aid kit □□ Shoes (pack at least one pair of walking □□ Pain medicine shoes as well as flip flops and sandals) □□ Any medications you are taking (birth □□ Socks control, anti-anxiety pills, motion sickness □□ Skirts, jeans, shorts meds, etc.) □□ Tanks, t-shirts, hoodies, jacket □□ Cotton swabs □□ Sleeping clothes, sweat pants □□ Sunscreen □□ Bathing suit □□ Lotion □□ Hats □□ Razors or shaving kit □□ Sunglasses □□ Condoms (if you don’t mind dirty festival □□ Belts sex) □□ Undies and bras □□ Hair brush, clips, ties, bobby pins, headbands □□ Scarves, gloves, skull caps □□ Rain coat □□ Back packs or Camelbak □□ Ticket □□ Cash/Cards □□ Phone & Charger (portable if possible)

DONT FORGET TO PACK ME! 15

Charge all electronics

your

Some festivals have power outlets available, but many do not. If you are camping chances are power sources will be scarce so charge any devices you can before leave. This includes phones, cameras, spare batteries, and anything else you may want working over the weekend. For those of you who need/like having your phone at all times, invest in a portable charger (or six) before the trip to ensure that you have a way to keep it charged. Even if you don’t bring a charger with you try and make an attempt to save some battery life so that you have an emergency phone in case you should have any trouble on the ride home.

Get your route ready

Double check that you have read, understood, and printed out full directions. If you have the option, it’s a good idea to have backup in case the printed directions fly out the window, your Sat Nav stops working, and you’re unable to access the page on your phone. Often the directions on the festival’s website will have the easiest route and you can usually follow signs or other cars once you get to any off the beaten path kind of roads.

Get yourself ready

Everyone has their own pre-festival rituals so these are just some suggestions: Get all your chores done the days before you depart, because the

last thing you want is to worry about is that you forgot to send off the rent, pay a bill, or dog proof your bedroom. We like to go ahead and make sure our beds and bathrooms are all cleaned up. You can get so dirty during festivals so it’s nice to get home and be able to take a hot shower. Check your bank account and make sure your money affairs are in order. Go ahead and withdraw any cash you need for the weekend. It is also a good idea to keep an emergency stash of money either hidden in your car or kept in the bank in case you need money on the way home. Take one last good hot shower before you leave.

Just before you leave

Double and triple check that you have packed your tickets, and keep them out so that they can be easily found once you arrive at the festival grounds.

At The Festival Hydrate

Just like anything in our lives, hydration is key. Long days in the sun and the possible alcohol indulgence means that it’s more important than ever to drink a lot of water. Staying hydrated will keep you going long into the night.

Sunscreen

Festivals can be tricky. It’s hot and dry during the day, and unpredictably cold in the evening. That means you need to plan your

outfit and protection accordingly. Bring a hat and sunglasses and make sure to carry sunscreen with you. When it starts to cool down at night, bring a long sleeved shirt to get changed into.

Stay Charged

There is destined to be a whole lot of picture taking and texting while roaming the grounds. That means it’s vital to have an extra charger on hand for your phone. The last thing you want is being stuck with a dead phone and no means for finding your friends who made a run for the front row. But don’t spend the entire festival on your phone! No one wants to see 400+ live (and rubbish quality) videos of Slipknot from the back of the crowd.

Manage Your Time

There is a ton to see at festivals, from retail booths of cool merch to rollercoasters, and enough bands to have you covered for a year. You don’t need to experience everything to have a blast, but a little planning will go a long way. If the Festival offers a map or app of set times, sit down with your friends and coordinate who you want to see. Then you’ll always have someone by your side and you won’t miss your favorite act due to poor planning. If there is no app available at the festival you attend, set up timed reminders on your phone, or even have a written list in your pocket!

Hot Off The Press!

Ashestoangels From: Bristol, UK Members: Adam Crilly, Nico Venere, Jim Barber, Adam Falkor Sounds Like: AFI, Aiden, William Control Straight out of Bristol, synth goth punks Ashestoangels have already started making waves on the UK scene! “I started Ashestoangels a very long time ago; most people learn their craft in a number of different bands, but I’ve just stuck with one,” says Ashestoangels’ singer/synth player Adam Crilly. “I’ve written literally hundreds of songs since the band started, some of them

are pretty terrible! But I think you can trace a fairly clear evolution from our first song to where we are now. I’ve always had a sound in my head, its just taken this long to get it out.... Like Johnny Cash we sound like this because we don’t know how to play any other way.” With their third album Horror Cult (Produced by William Control) released last year, the band have gone from strength to strength. “William could see what we were going for on this album and really pushed us to try and achieve it,” recalls Crilly. “He really knows his stuff when

it comes to electronics and punk rock, the two things that make up a lot of our sound… He told us that we were a great local band, but it was time to step our game up.” “When we came into the studio we brought an albums worth of songs that we thought were finished - William thought they were demos,” he continues; “It was very intense and my ego took a death punch to the face but we came out a much better band.” Catch Ashestoangels on tour with William Control this month!

Originally from Palm Springs Kevin Ghost (Vocals) and Alix Monster (Guitar and backing vocals) were in highschool together. After realizing they were both in LA the two got together with Manny and Evan and started making music together. The real selling point for Ghost Town is that every one of their songs has its own original artwork from fifth member of Ghost Town Alister “Imamachinist” Dippner, who went to high school with Alix and Kevin in Palm Springs. It was while Alister filmed

himself creating the artwork for The band have only been out Game Freak utilizing his defined to the UK twice, the first trip style and sped up the footage was to play the UK version of to fit the length of the song, Warped Tour (and to do a small that the band truly started to stint with Itch) the second time take off. the band came out they played Between sharing the video to a full headline tour, even selling Apocore TV’s 15,000 YouTube out the London date of the subscribers and Dippner’s own tour. 13,000 on Instagram, the song You can catch Ghost Town At exploded. Download Festival This Summer! After that video, the band has been in demand since, regularly topping the PureVolume feature From: Hollywood, California, USA artists list. The band also Members: Kevin Ghost, Evan Pearce, started Ghost Town Tuesday’s, Alix Monster, Manny Dominick to capitalise on their success on Sounds Like: Breathe Carolina, Game Freak. Linkin Park, Kill Hannah

Ghost Town

Fort Hope Like a phoenix rising out of the ashes, Fort Hope rose from the ashes of My Passion. The original lineup consisting of Jon Gaskin, Ande D’Mello, Simon Rowlands and Jamie Nicholls released their first single Control on January 13th 2013. The song was aired on BBC Radio a month later. Since then that band have just gone strength to strength. After releasing their debut album Courage, the band toured with bands such as, We Are The In Crowd, Never Shout Never, Ghost Town and Jimmy Eat World as well as playing at Sonisphere Festival. Just

before they were due to head out on tour with Mallory Knox and frnkiero andthe cellabration, Ande D’Mello announced his departure. On November 7th 2014 the band released Plans in promotion of their third EP, which is selftitled and would be released on February 8th 2015. They also released ‘Sick’ as the second single to promote the EP and released a music video for ‘Plans’ two days prior to the EPs release. The EP has since had a lot of airplay on BBC radio 1. The band played their first UK

From: Beds, Bucks and Herts, UK Members: Jon Gaskin, Jamie Nicholls, Simon Rowlands Sounds Like: You Me At Six, Finch, Blitz Kids headline tour in February 2015 in support of their self-titled EP. Even without the small amount of fans the guys brought over from their time in My Passion, their talent alone earned them their ever-growing fanbase. This year will be bigger and better then the previous. You can catch the band this summer at Slam Dunk, Reading and Leeds Festival.

Drama Club Having Supported Black Veil Brides on two legs of the Black Mass Tour across the UK and the USA, Drama Club is a producer/DJ duo comprised of anonymous masked musicians Zero and Andromeda, who call themselves “The Twins”. The twins have chosen to remain completely anonymous and that really plays in their favour as you are itching to find out who they really are. Born from late night studio sessions and parties across the world, the duo first appeared in Moscow, Russia on October 31st 2014, and we don’t doubt that 2015

will be a year that sees Drama Club rocket. With elements from everybody, from Skrillex and Black Veil Brides to Breath Carolina, Nin Inch Nails and even Bring Me The Horizon, the duo have the sound and look to really make waves in the scene. When talking to Zero about the masks he said; “The masks allow us to completely lose ourselves in the live experience and to keep our heads in the clouds where they belong.” “[Drama Club is] all about the that energy, expression and acceptance”, Zero adds.

From: Unknown Members: Zero Drama, Andromeda Drama Sounds Like: Nothing you have ever heard before After giving out some of their music online for free, the band has also announced that they will be releasing their debut full-length album on June 16th 2015, and we will be getting a copy, will you? You can catch these guys on Warped Tour all summer across the USA

American Fangs From: Houston, Texas, USA Members: Gabriel Cavazos, Micah Miller, Kyle Shimek, Kenyon Puntenney, Chris Goodwin Sounds Like: Heavens Basement, Foo Fighters, Funeral For A Friend This Texan 5-piece formed on October 6th in 2008 and, like so many before them, credit their name inspiration to marijuana. They put together their first EP in the same year, but only the USA got to experience this release. It wasn’t until five years after American Fangs formed that their music reached over the pond and to the shores of

the UK. This music came in the form of their Pomona EP. The 5-song collection featured an acoustic track and a demo version of one of their songs. It wasn’t long after the EP release that the UK got the American Fangs live experience when Jacoby Shaddix personally requested to have them on tour with Papa Roach. As singer Gabe Cavazos said, “To have someone as stellar as Jacoby give the green light and say “I hear you guys” means the world to us. He changed our lives.” Along with Papa Roach the guys have been

lucky enough to hit the road with the likes of Fall Out Boy, Hollywood Undead, Sevendust and Deftones. When it came to the release of their self-titled full length album, the UK were left behind yet again, not getting the album until a year after the US got to hear it. They have since released a new album, ‘Dirty Leg’, for the US and we wait hopefully that the UK will also see a release of this new music. You can catch these guys at Download Festival This Summer!

Lights, Camera Action!

*SPOILER ALERT* We all wanted to grow up to be rock stars. And apparently rock stars wanted to grow up to be in the movies. Some embarrass themselves and decide against quitting their day job. But others actually aren’t half bad at the whole acting thing. There are many performances to choose from, but we have decided to focus on one of the latest DC Universe films. Enter Jared Leto, who became a well-known rock star after he made his name in film, but he’s always been a music guy, so he makes the magazine. With the recent news and images coming out form the new suicide squad film, we have a full run down of what we know about his role in the film.

He Will Be Funny

The last version of The Joker we saw was the amazing

portrayal by the late Heath Ledger, which was dark and very different to what it looks like we will be getting. Jared Leto apparently wants to deliver a “more cerebral and comedic” take on The Joker. That obviously means he won’t attempt to imitate either Ledger or Jack Nicholson, and while The Joker is far from a comedy character, him having a little more wit would be much closer to The Joker we know and love from the comic books.

He Killed Commissioner Gordon and Robin In one of the most

controversial changes to the comic books, Zack Snyder’s Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice will apparently reveal that The Joker murdered Commissioner Jim Gordon in a past battle with Batman. This will happen when Clark Kent visits Gotham City and sees a memorial plaque dedicated to the longtime Batman ally. While The Joker killing Gordon is a departure from the source material, don’t fret too much as one of the villain’s most memorable kills will still be included. That is of course the murder of Jason Todd, the second Robin who was beaten close to death with a crowbar by the Joker before being left to die in an explosion. Apparently, Robin’s costume will be on full display in the Batcave, just like in the comics. The Joker will also be named as being responsible for his death too, but this cameo for the sidekick’s costume

could have some major ramifications moving forwards.

HIS Relationship With Harley Quinn

Suicide Squad’s Harley Quinn will have also been in action for a number of years as a villain (there was some speculation that she will possibly be introduced as Dr. Harleen Quinzel and that this movie would serve as an origin story of sorts). Just like the comic books, it sounds like she and The Joker will have a very strange and complicated relationship. Harley will end up in the custody of Amanda Waller after attempting to break The Joker out of captivity in Arkham Asylum while he’s being transferred to Belle Reve. She will also be one of the few characters who interacts with him during his captivity; Waller will allow those visits as a way of keeping him in check.

Other Bands and Their Films Legion Of The Black - Black Veil Brides

To coincide with the release of Wretched and Divine: The Story of the Wild Ones, Black Veil Brides released Legion Of The Black. A film that is made to fit the story of the album.

Fan Girl All Time Low

All Time Low are set to appear in a film called Fan Girl this year. The movie will centre around a 15-yearold music fan who’s obsessed with the band. The film is set to star Kiernan Shipka, Meg Ryan and Kara Hayward. The band will also provide music the the film’s original soundtrack.

W h a t now Danny Worsnop

Sumerian Records owner Ash Avildsen has written, directed and starred in a new comedy film, What Now. What Now features guest appearances from Ice T, Jeffree Star, Ben Bruce, Danny Worsnop, Steven Adler of Guns N’ Roses, Tosin Abasi of Animals As Leaders and many more.

Exhibit A

Established in 2008 by Richard Villa III, Exhibit A Gallery was originally a place for the creative types to get together and exchange ideas. Since then, the artists have worked with some massive names including Shawn Crahan (Clown of Slipknot), Gerard Way (My Chemical Romance), Robert Trujillo (Metallica) and Andy Biersack (Black Veil Brides). Established in 2008 by Richard Villa III, Exhibit A Gallery was originally a place for the creative types to get together and exchange ideas. Since then, the artists have worked with some massive names including Shawn Crahan (Clown of Slipknot), Gerard Way (My Chemical Romance), Robert Trujillo (Metallica) and Andy Biersack (Black Veil Brides).

relationship. They have creatively collaborated since 2009. Exhibit A Gallery presented the first Black Veil Brides show EVER in Los Angeles and since then, has become a very significant part of Black Veil Bridesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; history, but most importantly a life long friendship was formed. Richard and Andy have been the master minds of many creative ideas ranging from various album cover art, t-shirt designs, music Richard and Andy Biersack videos, art shows, to even have had a long standing the feature film Legion of the friendship as well as a creative Black and NOW, the creative

partnership introduces the first series of fine art poster prints. In early February 2013, the gallery got notice that their

Code Violation Notice Served to the gallery

landlord had sold their original building, and the new landlord wanted to move in as soon as possible. After being at the 1086 S Fairfax location for what was approaching eight years, this was a complete shock and a loss. At the time they thought it was a stroke of luck finding that a space just down the road had become vacant. A few months (and a few thousand dollars) later they were in the new space and that’s when problems really started. After not being in their new studio space for three months, In August 2013, a man walked into the gallery with a clipboard in hand, looked around, went upstairs, took four pictures and simply left. The building was not up to city code. Beginning May of 2014, the entire gallery was demolished, reconstructed, inspected and all future projects were completely halted. They first got told that it would take only two weeks to bring the gallery up to code with the city of Los

Angeles. Those two weeks eventually turned into a month, then three months of major construction, which continued to four more months of minor constructions, interruptions and many more inspections, and now it’s approaching the oneyear mark. Their productivity was almost completely halted and they lost over 75% of their clients, studio artists had to be let go due to lack of funding and some exhibitions have either been postponed or even cancelled. The revenue that was being generated by the gallery was non-existent and there have been weeks where the staff hasn’t even been allowed near the gallery due to safety concerns. To this day their building still hasn’t been finished, many of their customers and potential new customers were loss because judging by their

Before Demolition started

building, inside and out, they thought the gallery had moved. Almost a year later, the construction seems to be complete, with it’s excessive embellishments of unnecessary city upgrades and with the plumbing, electrical, structural, handicap and green inspections finally behind them (hopefully). They are now seeing the full consequences of this hardship and the gallery is at risk. Due to the lack of revenue and exactly zero financial compensation from these responsible entities, (which includes the insurance company who refused to reimburse them for damaged art and property due to the construction), The future

After Demolition started

of Exhibit A Gallery remains A and had this to say; unknown. “For many years and for many reasons the Exhibit A gallery This is where they need has been one of the most you. They are asking for any important cornerstones in not contributions to keep Exhibit only the world of BVB but also A Gallery alive and a thriving in my own personal like. It was gallery once again. Blood ,sweat, a refuge for mw when I first tears and every last penny has moved to Los Angeles all those literally been put into making years ado and had no money this Gallery become what it is and nowhere to go. Over the today and to be derailed by years artistically it has become situations beyond our control, my haven and he hallowed it would truly be devastating grounds of creativity for me. I to see all of Exhibit A Gallery’s have since had the honour of accomplishments, passion, hard being involved in full scale art work, business and gallery lost. productions, music videos and shows. It was the first place BVB Andy Biersack took to twitter ever played in Los Angeles and when he found out that there it is the first place I go when may not be a future for Exhibit I have any free time. I cannot

explain the importance of not only the building but the heart and soul that keeps it going; my friend Richard Villa. Exhibit A is for you and me, it is for the outcasts and the fringe and it is most importantly for the artists. Please help keep Exhibit A alive.” You can donate by visiting; http://www.gofundme.com/ exhibitagallery We really would love to see Exhibit A survive for many years to come.

6 Merchandise Items We Didnt See Coming Thought the years we have seen bands make the standard merch items such as t-shirts, wallets, wristbands etc. But along the line there have been some musicians that go above and beyond to bring their fans the most unique items! We have managed to find a few gems in the sea of weird merch items, and you can read about some of our favorites below!

Deadmau5 Paramore Slayer Christmas Headphones for Cats Broken Heart Onesie Jumper Have you ever been sad that your pet cat doesn’t get to hear the sweet music that you listen to on your headphones? Deadmau5 feels your pain. That’s why he started selling cat headphones. The specially designed cat headphones, complete with “dog isolating technology,” sold for $999 bucks with proceeds going to the ASPCA.

Are you feeling so sad from a failed relationship that you can’t get out of bed? Never fear! Paramore sells broken heart onesie PJs. But keep in mind, it’s intended for sad teenage girls so “If you are ordering for adults or guys we recommend buying a size larger than normal.”

Nothing says Merry Christmas like a little Slayer? It may sound ridiculous, but Slayer was one of the original artists to release some special holiday swag in the form of a Christmas Jumper. With lovely sewn skulls and pentagrams, what better ways are there to gather around a fire with loved ones on a snowy Christmas night than in your satanic, metal-loving Slayer holiday jumper?

Perfect For:

Turning grumpy cats into happy kitties

Sitting on the couch eating copious amounts of ice-cream

Wearing to grandmas on Christmas day

So those were some of the less crazy items we found (even if cat headphones are bonkers! We wouldn’t expect much less of Joel / Deadmau5). So now here are some of the stranger items we managed to dig up! (We really didn’t want to write about the Rammstein sex kit but if you’re over 18 by all means google it)

Fall Out Boy Nesting Dolls

Pierce The Veil Hot Sauce

My Chemical Romance Action Figures

Do you ever look at a piece of band merch and wonder, “How the hell did they even come up with this?” Those were the exact words form some of our staff when we found the Fall Out Boy nesting dolls. Obviously, Patrick is the smallest one—any coincidence that traditionally, the smallest doll is the baby? While it’s not the kind of merch you can wear proudly and show off to the world.

Never has a band stuck to their heritage as much as Pierce The Veil. Their fans describe them as “mexicore”, their ethnicity has always found its way into their career, and it quickly became a trademark of the Pierce The Veil name. So was it really a surprise to anyone when the band released their first bottle of hot sauce? Now with an entire line under the very strange listing of “accessory,” a practical gift for anyone in your life that leaves an underlying message of great tunes right on their kitchen counter.

Back in 2005 during the prime of their career My Chemical Romance decided it would be an amazing idea to make some action figures, and what that really said to fans is “now we can film our weird fanfiction scenes”. Standing about 5 inches tall and being almost completely pose able they could form the best kind of paperweight for your desk now. They will probably knock you back between £10 and £280 if you can even find them at all (we couldn’t find a Gerard Way figure at all!).

Perfect For:

Sitting on your desk, ready to start an interesting conversation.

Appling liberally to hot wings! Find a recipie on our website.

Recreating your weird MCR fanfictions or conversation starter.

What connects the big bands of the alternative scene, like Bring Me The Horizon, Pierce The Veil, All Time Low or A Day To Remember apart from their music? They are all part of the Drop Dead family! The clothing company was founded in 2005 by Bring Me The Horizon vocalist Oliver Sykes and, just like his band, the community instantly adopted Drop Dead. Originally Oli made all

the designs himself, but with the growing request he has now teamed up with several artists on the scene and worked together with members of different bands of the metal- and hardcore genres. Meanwhile, the brand mark of Drop Dead, the undead kitty, transcends scene bounds and stands for high-quality clothing with fancy motives, cuts or colours that support everyone’s individual style!

Behind The Brand:

Drop Dead Compiled by Kayla Elliott Drop Dead was founded in 2005 by Oliver Sykes, front man of the British heavy rock band Bring Me The Horizon. With a headquarters in Sheffield, U.K, Drop Dead creates unique, high quality, limited apparel and collectibles, inspired by ‘90s culture, life on the road and an ever-evolving taste in music, art and street culture. Starting when Oliver was a teenager he was into graphic design and was always drawing, Oli states “I was in college and

Photos by: Kayla Elliott / Tom Barnes /

really liked design and art and I was excelling a lot faster than what I was learning so I needed something like a clothing line to outlet my creativity.” Oli also said that he really just wanted to get his art out into the world. The message that Drop Dead Clothing is supposed to send is “Don’t eat meat!” Oli says. “ Oh yeah and party in squads haha! I don’t think Drop Dead has a concrete message. I just like to work with people who have the same ideas as me and make clothes.”

Flash forward five years and after a lot of hard work and online promo, Oli was ready to open their flagship store in London. On May 1st 2010 Drop Dead’s first store was opened on Brick lane. As a celebration and a reward for the

first 100 customers in the store to make a purchase in the store, also received a free t-shirt along with other goodies such as key chains, pendants, cushions, and stickers. After hosting a couple of meet and greets and some other events it was time to move on from their Brick Lane home, and upgrade to one of the most sought after areas in London.

On April 30th 2011 Drop Dead made the move all the way up to Carnaby Street in Soho. Actually located at 8 Kingly Street the store hasn’t changed too much since it’s opening (other then the window display and interior changing with each new collection). Every inch of the store had been designed to fit the brand’s style at the time, from the colour changing

Carnaby Street near the store and saw an incredible turnout.

counter at the rear, the ‘kitty brains’ light box which rested above it, and the giant, somewhat transparent coffin which sat in the middle of it all. Hundreds of people came out to see the store open. Oli was at the store all day, signing autographs and posing for photos with almost every single customer who stepped through the door was given a goodie bag, with the first 100 treated to a limited opening exclusive T-shirt as a souvenir of their day and a reward for the time they’d spend in the queue. In September 2011 the brand have their first ‘catwalk’ event, featuring live drawing of one of their designs and event a DJ set! The even was held on

November 21st 2011 saw the launch of Doroppu, this was the first of the vinyl toys we would be seeing from Drop Dead. This also saw the launch of a new collection so go with the look of the toy.

Rounding out the year with a live clothing show at the NEC in Birmingham, where the brand got to showcase their clothing to a very wide audience, who may not have been aware of the brand otherwise. For the first half of 2012 not much went on, there were the standard seasonal collections and the festival appearances by the brand. After hosting Tramline at a show the brand made the announcement they were going to launch their second vinyl figure.

Hello and GoNuts! August 11th saw the launch of their second vinyl

Drop Dead Timeline Early 2005 Drop Dead founded

May 1st 2010

Brick Lane store opening

April 30th 2011

Kingly street store opening figure from Drop Dead. The figure was launched at the Kingly Street store and the brand gave out doughnuts at the store on launch day! The logo for the figure to us looks a whole lot like the Dunkinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Doughnuts logo but we will let you decide on that.

and more bands were starting to come to Drop Dead for their sessions and such!

September 2011

The brands first catwalk show

November 12th 2011

Saw the launch of the Doroppu collection and vinyl toy

December 2011

Live clothing show in Birmingham

August 11th 2012 GoNuts Vinyl Launch

September 2012

With the release of the Devil Sold His Soul album Empire Of Light, the band held their album listening party in the store. The band was there to listen to their handy work as well as pose for photos and sign autographs for the fans that managed to get in. 2013 started off with a few in-store signings and acoustic sessions with bands such as Tonight Alive and Bury Tomorrow. The brand were really starting to see the family forming around them, and with Oliâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s influence in the scene more

The brand also celebrated its second birthday at the Kingly Street store on April 30th, there was cake, balloons and just a lot of fun for the customers who chose to spend that special day at the store.

Devil Sold His Soul Album Listening Party

Feburary 16th 2013 Tonight Alive in-store

April 27th 2013 Bury Tomorrow Signing

April 30th 2013

2nd Birthday at Kingly Street

May 8th 2013 Crossfaith Signing

June 8th 2013

Don Broco Acoustic Session Following their second birthday we saw another slew of artist flocking to the store to play acoustic sessions and do signings. With artists such as Crossfaith, Don Broco and Young Guns joining

June 17th 2013 Young Guns Acoustic Session

June 2013 Drop Dead Kingly Street store gets a full makeover and summer collection revealed

September 2nd 2013 The Mignight Beast in-store

September 30th 2013 Tonight Alive in-store

October 9th 2013 blessthefall signing

October 16th 2013 letlive. in-store

December 10th 2013 Sega Megadrive collection launched

December 13th 2013

Sheffield Flagship store opened

March 7th 2014

Tonight Alive in-store - London

March 13th 2014

Architects in-store - Sheffield

April 16th 2014

Memphis May Fire in-store London

April 30th 2014

Kingly Street 3rd Birthday

May 31st 2014

Itchy & Scratch Collection Launched

August 4th 2014

Crazy Life Collection Launched

the Drop Dead family, the brand continued to grow further. In June 2013 we saw the release of the summer collection, but to coincide with the launch of the summer collection the Kingly Street store had a complete overhaul. Gone were the colourful characters that once adorned the walls. They were replaced with a more sleek and sophisticated look of wooden walls. Also the addition of the barring on the windows which made the store look a bit more upmarket.

October 17th 2014

CBA Collection Launched

October 27th 2014

The Word Alive in-store

Feburary 21th 2015

Gremlins Collection Launched

April 11th 2015 Issues in-store

April 25th 2015 Drop Dead x Reagal Rose x Black Stabbath Jewlrey launch

As summer lead into winter once again the store had a lot of signings an in-stores as bands were coming from all over the world to play the London venues. Blessthefall, Letlive and Tonight Alive all had massive turnouts to their signings and sessions which were only securing

the future of the store more.

In November 2013, Drop Dead announced they would be collaborating with popular video game developer Sega, to create “The Drop Dead Mega Drive Collection”, featuring clothing designed with artwork from: Ecco the Dolphin, Golden Axe and Streets of Rage. These limited edition clothes were released on 10 December, 2013. Oli said: “After growing up playing SEGA Mega Drive with my brother, I’m really excited to have been able to officially collaborate with this legendary name in video gaming.” Sissel Henno, Head of Brand Licensing at SEGA Europe Ltd., comments: “We’re really excited to see Drop Dead develop a range of clothing based on our famous retro brands. I’m confident that these unique designs will get

a warm reception from our core fan base.” The first of many collaborations with other major franchises to come later!

on March 7th. The London store getting a bit of attention after the Sheffield store opening.

and some black balloons, fans were invited to come spend the day with the staff.

After moving into 4A Rutland Way, Sheffield in July 2013, Drop Dead finally opened its doors on December 13th. This store had been a long time coming with Oli being based in Sheffield. As with the opening of the London store, Oli was around for the whole day to sign autographs and pose for photos with fans who came to the opening. Built in 1919 by local architect William John Hale, Sheffield’s Samuel Osborn building was originally built as a spring shop for steel manufacturer Samuel Osborn & Co’s Rutland Works, which produced railway springs. The building was refurbished in the 1990s and re-named Insignia Works after the company trademarks incorporated into the principal elevations. The building has been a Grade II listed site since 2009, and is now where Drop Dead call home. Starting 2014 off with a bang,

Tonight Alive dropped by the London store to do another signing

March 9th kicked off the start of the sessions at the new Sheffield store. Architects were the first band to do an in-store, with the increased space in the Sheffield store more people are able to get in to see and meet their favourite bands.

On May 31st Drop Dead launched their second collaboration collection based on the lovable Simpsons characters Itchy and Scratchy! The collection, as well as having clothing, featured bags, key rings and even had a sticker pack to go along side it. Much of the collection sold out on release day due to its high popularity. The collection was launched in the Sheffield and London stores, as well as being online at the same time.

After a signing from Memphis May Fire it was this for Drop Dead’s London store to celebrate its third birthday! With a black cake that looked like it could have come straight off the rails in the store

in hundreds of people and again solidified the brand.

Three months later the Crazy Life collection was released. With a redesign of the logo to a smiley face with the ‘vida loco’ three dots under its eye similar to what Oli has tattooed on his face. This collection features towels as well as bags and clothing.

October 17th saw the launch of the CBA collection, which had a relaxed vibe to it that we haven’t seen from Drop Dead yet and was a welcome change. The collection stuck very much to the standard clothing such as t-shirts and hoodies unlike the previous collections.

10 days after the CBA collection launch The Word Alive popped into the store for a quick instore signing before playing their London show. The signing brought

Finally it was time for Drop Dead to premier its biggest collaboration to date, Gremlins. Alongside the launch of this collection, a showing of the Gremlins film was put on at the Sheffield store. The collection was well received and the stores designs really paid homage to the brilliant film.

On April 25th Issues brought in another lot of fans with their in-

store signing ahead of the highly anticipated World Tour with Sleeping With Sirens and Pierce The Veil. All of the bands on this tour are part of the ever growing Drop Dead family and we are waiting to see who the next members of the family will be.

It was announced that Drop Dead have been collaborating with Regal Rose and Black Stabbath to bring out a Jewelry line on April 25th so keep an eye out for that soon! And remember “Eat shit and Drop Dead”.

Commitment Issues There are few forms of personal expression that show devotion as much as a tattoo, and many music fans have taken to having their favourite bands logos or lyrics permanently inked on them. It has been a very controversial subject due to the permanent nature of tattoo’s, and the ‘lack of professionalism’ that comes with having the name of that one scremo band you liked back in 2009 on your wrist, or the lyrics to ‘The Bad Touch’ by The Bloodhound Gang. Some fans still go ahead and get these tattoos and they can be some of the most beautiful things and obviously mean more then just the love of the band (for the most part). So here’s some of those people who wear the songs of their heart on their sleeves — literally. Name: Jenna Young Tattoo: Papa Roach - Carry Me What inspired you to get the tattoo? And why? My Papa Roach tattoo wasn’t originally intended to be so, it was just an angel/devil doodle I came up with but when I heard their song ‘Carry Me’ for the first time I realized how well the lyric ‘It takes horns to hold up my halo’ fit the design. I also think it’s a great philosophy to have, along the lines of there can’t be good if there isn’t bad.

How long have you had it?

It was my first ever tattoo I got for my 18th birthday so I’ve had it for 3 years now.

How has it impacted your life? As it is quite a hidden tattoo it hasn’t really had much of a profound impact in that no one else is really aware of it unless I make them so. It has made me feel a stronger connection to Papa Roach in a weird way though! Because they are permanently on my body I feel like I should always support them.

Have there been negative repercussions as a result? As I said before, no one really notices it so there aren’t really any repercussions. We’ll have to wait and see if this changes after a holiday on the beach in a bikini.

Would you go back and change anything about it? Not because of the band connection, no. I would have gotten a different artist to do the tattoo however as the detail of mine isn’t the artists strong point.

Name: Des Jensen Tattoo: Jack’s Manequin What inspired you to get the tattoo? And why? I have four band inspired tattoos - two for Kill Hannah and one each for Jack’s Mannequin and AFI. I have plans for even more. “Swim for the music that saves you,” from Jack’s Mannequin’s song Swim. Andrew McMahon, the creative force behind Jack’s Mannequin, had long been an inspiration and hero to me and when I finally had a chance to get to one of his shows, I went into it determined to get him to write the word swim on my ticket stub. Before the show, I was teetering between the lyric I eventually chose and “Just keep your head above and swim,” but when I was hit by a very strong wave of emotion during the show, I knew there was no question. The tattoo I wanted had to be a tribute both to his influence on my life and to the power of music in general.

how has it impacted your life?

In a lot of ways. The Swim lyric is on my chest, right near my collarbone, so it is quite visible most of the time and one of the others is on my wrist so it is visible 95% of the time. As a result, people ask me almost daily what one or the other says and what it means. But the other side of it is they serve as a sort of secret handshake. Other people who are fans of the bands I have honored see them and feel completely comfortable telling a total stranger, “Hey, I love that band, too!”

have there been negative repercussions as a result?

Aside from the clear looks of disapproval or confusion at my explanations, none that I can really think of. Thankfully, I am an intensely creative person and even if I don’t continue working in the beauty industry, where visible body modification has become so common it’s almost expected, I will probably always be doing something where my tattoos are not an issue. I do not envy people who are forced to cover their art for a job.

would you go back and change anything about it?

I actually would. Although I love my Swim tattoo, it was designed in haste and if I could go back I would have put more thought into how it was set up. As it is “Swim” is in Andrew McMahon’s handwriting and “for the music that saves you” is in my own and without really looking, the two are very similar, taking away from the fact that the first part is in the songwriter’s own writing. If I could re-do it, I would make “Swim” larger and probably use a block, typed lettering style for the rest.

Name: Reece Forrester Tattoo: ‘Hope’ with a flame above it What inspired you to get the tattoo? And why? My the

Chemical Romance’s (a band I love/loved) guitarist Frank Iero had same tattoo and I liked the ideology of the tattoo aswell.

I for

dressed similarly to the band almost 5 years and got the tattoo after the second time

I saw them live.

How long have you had it?

How has it impacted your life? It reminds me to have hope in my heart though this has no relation to the band as such more the tattoo it’s self.

Have there been negative repercussions as a result?

No there haven’t and it serves as a reminder of the band after their break up and a time in my life where I really needed that band.

Would you go back and change anything about it?

No I wouldn’t change it (except maybe not have differed from the original design he had done as I wish it was exactly the same as his)

Name: Sadan Mustafa Tattoo: Lost In Stereo - All Time Low What inspired you to get the tattoo? And why? I’ve always loved the song ‘lost in stereo’ and I think it accurately describes how I feel about music--I’m completely oblivious to others and just lost in it.

How long have you had it?

I think it’s been about 2 years... I wanna say. Maybe 3 actually.

How has it impacted your life?

It hasn’t changed anything in any way. At the beginning obviously I couldn’t do stuff for a while haha, but It hasn’t cause any issues in my life.

Would you go back and change anything about it?

I would probably not get it on my fingers only for the pure fact that it fades soo quickly! I’ve had it touched up twice and it’s still very faded. But i knew that going in, I still love it. And no one-employers, friends, strangers-have treated me any differently or anything because of it.

Even our favourite band members have their own band tattoos, check out some of our favourites here! Name: Andy Biersack Band: Black Veil Brides “This was my first tattoo, which I got for a girl I was dating when I was 15. It’s part Alkaline Trio, part random shit…and part Hitler hair. I actually have no idea why it has Hitler hair. I only realized it looked like that years after I got it.”

Name: Adam Crilly Band: Ashestoangels “Actually I got this FVK tattoo in the back of a van in Newcastle (points to FVK logo tattoo) We were with this girl who was an artist and pulled the van up to a hotel with good floodlights and away she went.”

Name: Rain Dawson and Jack Barakat Band: All Time Low

Rian [Dawson], our drummer, got a Blink tattoo a few years back. He posted a picture of it online, and I think Mark [Hoppus] saw that, I guess, because of the reaction. Mark sent him an email and was like, “Yo, that’s an awesome shout-out, blah blah blah.” - Alex Gaskarth

Live Reviews

Black Veil Brides Date: March 13th 2015 Venue: The Electric Ballroom, London Support: Like A Storm, Fearless Vampire Killers Rating: When it was announced that Black Veil Brides were going to hold a two-night residency in London, the tickets sold out in minutes, and those lucky folk who nabbed them were going to be witnessing something special, as Black Veil Brides had never played shows on this small a scale in the UK before. From the moment they walked out onto the stage, to the moment they took their final bows, they had the crowd eating out of the palm of their hands as they brought with them the

energy and production you’d expect at an academy or arena show. As they launched into Heart Of Fire and I Am Bulletproof, the riffs, melodies and strong vocals filled the room, and with lights, screens and C02 cannons in tow, the fans were certainly in for a treat. Shows like this give any band the opportunity to connect with their fans and these shows were no different; Andy took to asking the crowd questions about how their day was going by passing the mic along the front row, which predictably resulted in a few “I Love You Andy” outbursts from hysterical fans, but it was a nice idea while it lasted. Andy refers to these shows as “rehearsal situations” where they are able to have fun and

mess around without having the responsibility of sticking to set schedules, this prompting weird chants from drummer CC and comical anecdotes about the band’s security making the shows that bit more special for not just the fans, but for the band themselves. A powerful encore of Fallen Angels and In The End ended the set. When asked by Andy if the band should hold a London residency every so often, the crowds erupted and gave a resounding yes, so you never know what will happen but we will always welcome those boys back with open arms.

The Blackout After many years (and too many shows to count) the end is nigh and in all honesty we still aren’t ready for The Blackout to be over. Some of the staff in the office have been with this band since From First To Last (remember them? Yeah… it was that long ago!) were around the first time, and is strange to think that they wont be a staple show anymore. Before the band even come on the crowd are already going crazy and starting circle pits. Tonight’s show is an hour and a half long, but it went in the blink of an eye with the setlist spanning over 2 ep’s, 4 albums (some great and some not so good) and latest EP Wolves. They try and cram everything they can into tonight, Sean Smith bounces

around the stage throwing his mic around, singing with clothing over his face and enough jokes to make it seem like he’s giving blink-182 a run for their money, while Gavin Butler holds the musical ensemble together. There’s sing-a-longs to every song, whether it’s a slow one or not, the crouching on the floor and the jumping contests- by all means it’s The Blackout as everyone will remember them. They even throw in a medley of the usually un-played tracks from their ep The Blackout, The Blackout, The Blackout. After the medley they ask how many people didn’t know what was going on and a surprisingly large number of hands are thrown into the air. It’s strange to think that not a lot of people have been

Date: March 25th 2015 Venue: Koko, London Support: The Arcadia Verses Rating: with this band for a while. Some of us started to feel old hearing those older track’s but it really made out night. The end of the show really hit us, but it was the crowd still singing the end of ‘Save Ourselves’ after the guys had left, you don’t see that passion everyday. The Blackout, you’ve been a huge part of all of our lives and for that we are incredibly grateful. You will be missed dearly.

All Time Low Whether you would like to admit to it or not, most people know who All Time Low are – whether you are only able to sing along to the chorus of their 2008 hit ‘Dear Maria, Count Me In‘ or quite literally knowing everything and anything there is to know about the Baltimore quartet. Either way, you cannot deny that the band have soared in popularity over the years, which was only confirmed by their announcement that they would be headlining Wembley Arena to record their second DVD – the follow-up to 2010’s Straight To DVD, which was recorded in New York. Unsurprisingly, the band managed to sell out the arena, with fans not only travelling from all over the UK to London, but from all

over the world. The ‘Hustlers’ (what All Time Low fans are known as) flocked to the arena from Sweden, Poland, and even as far as the United States. There was no doubt that tonight’s performance was going to be one for the books, and the fans seemed to share this sentiment as they streamed into the arena looking more excited than they had ever been in their lives. A start of ‘A Love Like War‘, ‘Lost In Stereo‘ and ‘Six Feet Under The Stars‘ had the crowd starting to get disorderly as a camera swung around above them, capturing every moment. Drummer Rian Dawson is famed for, of course, being in All Time Low, but also dating The Voice winner, country star and former vocalist of pop punk band Hey

Date: March 20th 2015 Venue: Wembley Arena, London Support: Real Friends, Neck Deep Rating: Monday, Cassadee Pope. Many fans were aware the beauty was attending, but didn’t suspect that she would take to the stage to perform ‘Remembering Sunday‘ alongside singer and guitarist Alex Gaskarth. That performance, and the next of ‘Therapy‘ took place on the B stage at the sound desk, allowing for fans (and us journalists) that had decided to stand at the back to have a better view for a while. Tears weren’t hard to spot as the arena emptied out; At least if you missed out, once the DVD comes out you can live it or re-live it if you managed to get tickets!

Album Reviews

All Time Low Future Hearts

Release Date: April 3rd 2015 Record Label: Hopless Records Rating: Download: Missing you, Kicking And Screaming & Tidal Waves All Time Low get back to the Nothing Personal sound with their latest release Future Hearts. Combining the best of their past two albums, taking the variety of sounds from Dirty Work and combining it with the pop-punk

that we loved from Don’t Panic. The opening track ‘Satellites’ has a raw sound we haven’t heard from the band before that echoes Frnk Iero andthe Cellabration. Alex’s voice, while sticking to his usual melodic pop-punk style, also has a rough quality, which matches the tone of this song brilliantly. It seems at first that the next track is going to follow a similar vein, with some screamed vocals to start, of course this is appropriate given the title ‘Kicking & Screaming’. From here, the album truly launches into the fun, upbeat tunes we expect from All Time Low. This vibe carries through the next few songs as the two singles come next. In true pop-punk style either of these tracks would get a party started, so turn them up loud and dance like no-ones watching.

‘Tidal Waves’ featuring King Of Pop-Punk, Mark Hoppus, as he takes command of the second verse, his voice blending perfectly into the song. While some have called this song the ‘Therapy’ of the album, it looses some of the passion being more heavily produced than its predecessor, but there’s no denying the emotion in Alex’s voice in the last choruses. Overall, this album sounds like Nothing Personal’s big brother, with some more grown up production but the same mix of fun and emotional tracks. It feels like a natural progression for the bands career, taking everything they learnt over their past three releases and combining it into one great album.

Halestorm

Into The Wild Life Halestorm’s third offering Into The Wild Life carries more guts and diversity than you could shake a stick at. The album opens with ‘Scream’ in an unconventionally tame manner. Its a slow burner, but out of no where it gives a massive middle finger to say it has had enough. The electronic elements combined with heart pounding drum beats that effervesce into a catchy as hell outro. The track sets the tone for a very natural and raw environment that the album was recorded in. Playing live in the studio means that every little aspect of Lzzy Hale’s vocals shine to the highest peaks throughout – after all, she’s our favourite front woman. ‘I Am The Fire’ and ‘Amen’ are fuelled by Lzzy’s compelling

fierceness that’s incredibly sexy to say the least. Its hard to believe that explosive tracks like these – which even at times lend themselves to a darker, doom metal side, are laid beside tracks such as ‘Dear Daughter’, which has been described as the ‘Break In’ of this album. A heartbreakingly gorgeous piano thirsty hymn, its a stripped back and stunning addition to the album. There is talent and genre infusion all over the place, but the album does at points feel like a collection of songs, rather than a traditional album. Its confusing to hear jazz cafe-like soul music followed by a fury of sexy rock n’ roll goodness. The tracks on this album are difficult to critique, but there’s a consistent feeling of a lack of focus. If this is Halestorm being

Release Date: April 13th 2015 Record Label: Atlantic Records Rating: Download: What Sober Couldnt say, Gotta Get Mine & Dear Daughter true to themselves though, then who are we to complain? Hey, we’re big fans of a good buffet after all.

As It Is

Never Happy, Ever After YouTube sensation Patty Walters was flying solo and doing alright. But everyone needs a little help from their friends and the American born singer and his four Brightonbased chums assembled like The Avengers and have created Never Happy, Ever After, a debut far beyond their years. The transatlantic team have managed this by destroying the blueprint that has seen a recent resurgence in the field. Don’t get ahead of yourself though, this is still pop punk, just minus the pizza. Instead they satisfy the hunger with sumptuous guitar lines found in ‘Cheap Shots & Setbacks’. While it could be argued that co-vocalist Ben Biss is the much needed gruff to the sparkle that really makes the record tick. None more so than the interplay on the

likes of ‘Sorry’ which tickles Release Date: April 20th 2015 you into submission while the Record Label: Hopeless Records self loathing of ‘Can’t Save Rating: Myself’ screams Taking Back Download: Speak Soft, Sorry & Concrete Sunday back in their pomp. There’s no denying that the acoustic ballad of ‘My Oceans 5-piece hold their hearts in their Were Lakes’ that is just cringe palms and aren’t afraid to spill worthy. Other than that Never blood setting them apart from the Happy, Ever After is the work of terrifyingly unstoppable force. likes of State Champs. They also boast the best pop punk As It Is are literally tearing the song you’re likely to hear all year genre a new hole. in ‘Dial Tones’ that’s tailor made for Warped Tour, the chorus alone is a massive sing-a-long. While the irresistible rhythms of ‘Concrete’ cement their punk credentials, the burst of pop that splashes in with ‘Silence (Pretending’s So Comfortable)‘ only confirms that this is easily relatable music. The only moot point is the Disney esque lyrics, especially during the

We Are Harlot We Are Harlot

Release Date: March 27th 2015 Record Label: Roadrunner Records Rating: Download: The One, Someday & I Tried It’s been a little while since former Asking Alexandria frontman, Danny Worsnop picked up his mic, and we’ve been itching to get our grubby hands on We Are Harlot’s debut for months now. It’s finally here, and it’s a thing of beauty.

As musical styling goes, We Are Harlot are a lot more melodic than the previous brutal sound of Asking Alexandria. Imagine We Are Harlot as a mild cheddar, whereas Asking Alexandria are more of the full stilton experience if you will. But don’t get all literal with the cheese analogies, this album is isn’t just cheese. For the most part, Danny has ditched his trademark deathly bellows in favour of a more hard rock sound, which we absolutely adore. Delivering an on point vocal performance throughout the entire record, each brimming with bucket loads of harmonies, face melters and party rock attitude. Lead guitarist Jeff George’s licks and solos are glorious, and the amount of diversity throughout the album keeps you hooked and rocking for the long run. As

well as the previous high-octane releases ‘Denial’ and ‘Dancing On Nails’ We Are Harlot also deliver textbook emotional rock ballads like ‘Someday’ and ‘I Tried’, which has a definite whiff of Aerosmith about it. If you’re one of those “Rock and Roll is dead” skeptics then you are in for a huge shock. This album is everything rock should be. Cheeky, fast, loud, everything! The full package is here. Honestly, we could be looking at one of the next BIG names in rock here. One of the best debuts we’ve heard in a long time. Expect great things from We Are Harlot in the near future, because if this album’s anything to go by, This band is going to hit it big very soon.

10 Essential Tracks of the Month

Fashion Inspired Songs My Chemical Romance

The Blackout

It’s Not A Fashion Statement This one seems like a given, the word fashion is right there in the title. And who hasn’t tried the red tie Gerard look, or Frank Iero eye X’s from the ‘Three Cheers’ era? We know we have.

Fearlss Vampire Killers

Bowties On Dead Guys As all Doctor Who fans know, bow ties are cool. It’s a shame the wearers in this song are dead guys, but at least they’ll look great in the afterlife.

Lights

My Boots It’s all in the title. And a song writer who can pull together a whole song just based on her boots deserves some credit, doesn’t she?

Bowling For Soup

Trucker Hat

Again, the title is an item of clothing. Jaret dedicates a whole verse to his trucker hat, and another to parachute pants. And, much like the trucker hat, Bowling For Soup will never go out of style.

blessthefall

God Wears Gucci While Gucci may be a bit glossy for us lot, the music of blessthefall and the singer’s clothing line Golden Hearts Shine Forever are right up our street, and Gucci is still a fashion related term.

Fashion Conscious Suicide

on this list.

While the lyrics to this song may be as dark as the last word suggests, the title makes it worthy of a place

Mindless Self Indulgence

Evening Wear

There is a beautiful irony in MSI having a song called ‘Evening Wear’. It suggests a kind of formality and elegance you don’t associate with the band, but we wouldn’t have them any other way.

Fort Hope

I Got Style

Let’s forget about singer Jon Gaskin’s questionably busy shirts, and this song has some truth for this band. Great music and great style, Fort Hope are a band who have it all.

Falling In Reverse

Fashionably Late

Say what you want about Ronnie Radke, at least in this song he can admit he’s a jerk. Although he probably thinks he’s the height of cool, just watch the video for ‘Alone’.

Fall Out Boy

Pretty In Punk

Ahhh, a good old pun! You can count on Fall Out Boy to take a well-known (and slightly girly) saying and making it punk rock. In fact we like this song so much, we borrowed the title!