YOUR ONE STOP GUIDE TO THE BEST MUSIC IN EXETER, PLYMOUTH & THE DEVON AREA!
N O V E D
NOVEMBER 2013
C I S U M
OFFICIAL TICKET OUTLETS
Box Office - 01392 667080
w w w. s e e t i c ke t s . c o m
We catch up with the LADS of rock ahead of their Lemon Grove show. WIN TICKETS for you and a pal! Also this month Ed Byrne, Mad Dog Mcrea, I Divide, previews, listings and much more
Billy Bragg Exclusive interview + win tickets!
Mallory Knox Cereal killers?
Hacktivist
Answer dumb questions
Canterbury Back at The Cavern
Your venue here? Email sales@phmusicmedia.co.uk or call us free on 0808 147 1106
www.d e v o n - m u s i c.com
/devonmusicmag @D e vo n M u s i c M a g
WELCOME TO THE BEST MUSIC
IN EXETER, PLYMOUTH
N D E VO YOUR ONE STOP GUIDE
Thanks for picking up a copy of the new Devon Music Magazine, your one stop guide to the best music in Exeter, Plymouth and the Devon area!
& THE DEVON AREA! S OFFICIAL TICKET OUTLET
MBER 2013
MUSIC
NOVE
667080 Box Office - 01392
w w w. s e e t i c ke t s .
com
This month we catch up with veteran troubadour Billy Bragg ahead of his show at Exeter Great Hall, we meet the new generation of rock in the form of Don Broco and Mallory Knox, we talk comedy with Ed Byrne and chat some right old nonsense with Hacktivist. We also check in with local heroes Mad Dog Mcrea and I Divide and bring you listings and previews from all the best venues. Plus a chance to win tickets for two of the biggest shows coming up in Devon.
of their LADS of rock ahead We catch up with the and a pal! WIN TICKETS for you Lemon Grove show. Billy Bragg Exclusive interview
Mallory Knox Cereal killers?
Hacktivist
ons
Answer dumb questi
Your venue here? Email
Canterbury
Back at The Cavern
uk or call us free on sales@phmusicmedia.co.
u s i c.co ww w.d e v o n - m
m
0808 147 1106
/d e vo n m u s i c m a
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w w w. d e v o n - m u s i c . c o m /devonmusicmag /D e v o n M u s i c M a g
For news submissions and editorial enquiries email info@devon-music.com If you are interested in advertising with us email sales@phmusicmedia.co.uk or call us free on 0808 147 1106
TRC
HACKTIVIST THE ALGORITHM
ELITHIA
MALLORY KNOX BLITZ KIDS
THE CROOKS
MALLORY KNOX BLITZ KIDS
THE CROOKS
WHITE RABBIT 15/11 WHITE RABBIT 22/11
THE PHOENIX 23/11 WHITE RABBIT 24/11
DON BROCO
LEMON GROVE 02/12
AKALA
CAVERN 03/12
DAN LE SAC VS SCROOBIUS PIP
LEMON GROVE 28/01
65 DAYS OF STATIC
PHOENIX 25/03
advancepromo.co.uk / facebook/advanceexeter / facebook/advanceplymouth
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â€˜â€ŚGypsy, Balkan circus bands crossed with wobbly bassline rave’
The pioneers of ambient house music.
:H[ 5V] KVVYZ WT ‰ PLUS SUPPORT & DJS SAT 2 NOV| DOORS 9PM | £13 Bradninch Place, Gandy Street, Exeter, EX4 3LS
01392 667080 exeterphoenix.org.uk
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‘Another level altogether.’ MOJO
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‘A sparkling repertoire of self-penned songs’ TIMEOUT
‘Hear that? It’s the sound of yet another phenomenal British band coming of age’
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‘An explosion of raw, visceral energy and hedonism’ DJMAG
â€˜â€Śa creative tour de force.’ BBC MUSIC
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â€˜â€Śproof that folk music remains a rich and fertile breeding ground‌’ THE GUARDIAN
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THE MYSTERIOUS FREAKSHOW THE EXETER PHOENIX PRESENT
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An unusual and creative night of Steampunkery.
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‘These songs are going somewhere fast.’ 247 MAGAZINE
Michael Gray:
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& the history of Rock ‘n’ Roll This is more than a talk. With wit and style, the author of The Bob Dylan Encyclopedia traces how rock’n’roll arrived for the teenage Robert Zimmerman.
SUN 10 NOV 8PM, ÂŁ1O (ÂŁ8)
01392 667080 | exeterphoenix.org.uk | Bradninch Place, Gandy Street, Exeter, EX3 4LS
Bradninch Place, Gandy Street, Exeter, EX4 3LS
01392 667080 exeterphoenix.org.uk
SOUTH WEST MUSIC AWARDS The 3rd annual SOUTH WEST MUSIC AWARDS comes to Exeter’s THiRST club (Formally Havana) on Friday 15th November. Famous for attracting the cream of the region’s musical talent, from both the performing and production fields, previous shows have honored the likes of Joss Stone, Show of Hands and Muse’s production team. Featuring 17 highly contested award categories, this year’s event is hosted by Rev Hammer of Levellers/ Red Sky Coven fame and features live sets from Pat Orchard, a singer songwriter who once performed alongside Johnny Cash at The Albert Hall. As well as Somerset born Country music performer Olive DeVille who is flying over from her home in Ireland, up and coming Exeter based indie group The Sunday Sky Club, folk act The Gravity Drive and rock act The Stone Angels. There will also be a performance from Cornish magician/mind reader Alan Jones. This year’s Beacon of The South West Award, honouring an act that has helped promote the region, goes to Bristol super group THE BLUE AEROPLANES. Entertainment in the VIP suite this year will be provided by local music agency Mingle Music Tickets at £15.00 are available from The Exeter Phoenix box office or via Rooster Records in Fore Street Exeter or visit the awards website www.swma.vpweb.co.uk
How would you describe your music to someone who had never heard it? New age of metal, fusing dirty riffs with insightful & political grime bars topped off with some epicness! What’s your favourite motorway services? It’s gotta be Toddington. Josh & myself were there a few weeks back and some guy ran out of the main entrance & jumped straight into the food van (like through the gap between the counter & the roof) the woman serving ran out followed by the man. He was then chased by 3 topless pikeys over to the motorway. Everyone cleared out the services and security chased the men. Definitely memorable! What’s your favourite takeaway or place to eat out? Gotta be Nandos or Chinese take-away. What was the best festival you played this year? We played a lot of sick festivals this year but for me the one that stood out the most was Download. The energy in the tent was insane both on & off stage. Pants or boxers? Boxers. Do people wear pants!? Which member of the band would make the best girl? I’d say Tim. Simply down to his hair & he can be a bit of a diva. What’s your least favourite day of the week and why? Every day’s a blessing. There’s no day of the week I dislike. When do you think was the best era for music? I think we’re living in it right now. ‘Mainstream’ music has been a lot better in the past. But as far as decent music goes there’s so much sick shit out there right now & it’s only gonna get better. I’m grateful to be a part of this era & hope our music stands out and helps make a change to the world on an artistic level but also on a social/ political level. If you could collaborate with any artist, who would it be? I’d like to do something with Lowkey or Mic Righteous. Both extremely talented UK MC’s. What did you all do before Hacktivist? Tim & myself were in Heart Of A Coward. J was just doing his solo stuff. Rich played in Flip Side Up & a few function bands. Josh played in Sacred Mother Tongue & Subproject 151. If you could tour with any other band, who would it be and why? I think it would be Deftones. There’s a whole load of bands we’d love to tour with but they’re one of the bands that’ve been a big influence to us.
DEVON MUSIC | NOVEMBER 2013
Hacktivist are touring with The Algorithm in November, be sure to catch them in Exeter or Plymouth
FEATURE
Billy Bragg
Dare we say that Billy Bragg is the ‘godfather of political pop’? Yes we dare say we do. Famously quoted as saying ‘I’m not a political songwriter, I’m an honest writer’, Billy has forged a very long and successful career, far beyond that of many of his peers, from writing honest and heartfelt songs. The fact that much of his material is inspired by his political views is neither here nor there really, all great artists have their muse after all. The fact is that 30 years on he’s still standing in there, able to shout from the rooftops, able to reach willing audiences and get his messages across - testament indeed that great music can and does out live changing economics, politics, and government and social reforms. With the 30th anniversary rerelease of his 1984 top 30 album ‘Life’s a Riot with Spy VS Spy’ and a 14 date tour across the UK in a few weeks we thought we’d like to have a chat with Billy, to see if anything has actually changed much since the 80’s, and what he thinks of music today. And can we just say what an absolute gent the man is. You’ve always had very strong views on politics and the UK government, If you hadn’t got into music would politics have been a path you’d have been tempted to go down? No, I don’t think so, but I’d probably be ranting on a street corner somewhere or writing a blog. That’s who I am. Do you think that we, as the public in 2013, still have the ability to get fired up about politics, or do you ever feel like a bit of a lone voice while the rest of us sit on our lazy asses and watch XFactor? Well it was like that in the 80’s, during the miner strikes - plenty of people sitting on their asses watching Coronation Street. It’s always been like that. It’s just now fewer people believe that politics can have a meaning in their lives. Capitalism isn’t an enemy, cynicism is. Cynicism is a much bigger enemy. What do you think of Morrissey’s autobiography being a Penguin ‘classic’? I couldn’t give a monkeys! He could have put it out on a Digestive biscuit for all I care!
Do you think the music scene has changed much in the last 30 years? It’s still similar; people are buying music, just in a different way, and wanting to go to see bands live. There’s a ‘communion’ vibe at live shows that you only get at live shows. What do you think about the whole Miley Cyrus debacle, and the fact that someone so well respected as Sinead O’Connor got involved by writing her a public letter? Do you think that was a waste of time? Well it was rather a waste of time, but she’s had experience and is aware of all the pitfalls of the industry. The industry is sexist, and it’s hard seeing someone being used...male directors telling her ‘get your kit off’, exploiting the fact she’s a young impressionable lady. If I saw a young person being exploited I’d be tempted to tweet advice too. Your 30th anniversary edition of ‘Life’s a Riot with Spy VS Spy’ was released last week (21st October). What’s new on it? The original album is 17 minutes long; I sometimes used to play it in its entirety as an encore at shows, so this re-release also includes the live version of that ‘encore’. You say ‘sometimes’, is your set list unplanned? Well the sets are planned but with room for change. It depends on the vibe at the shows. If I’ve already played those songs as part of the set it might not happen. Every night can be different though, and encores are usually spontaneous. What does Billy Bragg stand for in 2013? Billy Bragg stands for the fight against cynicism...on the internet, in politics, in society. It’s about growing up, because as we get older we have less and less time for those people. If a young Billy Bragg was starting out today I’d be worried about him. What can we expect to see on your upcoming UK tour? Anything new happening? I have a full band with me on this tour, something a little different as I often go out on my own. Having a large back catalogue and lots of solo material as well means I can change things up at the shows, mess things around a little bit. I’m looking forward to it!
Catch Billy at Exeter Great Hall on December 5 www.billybragg.co.uk
At the beginning of your career you’d label your singles with messages like ‘pay no more than...’ as a stand against consumers being ‘ripped off’. How do you combat that 30 years on? Well nobody buys records any more, it’s all digital - buy them off the internet, buy them on iTunes, buy them from Amazon. Times have changed. We can’t control the market any longer. You can’t print a price on the front of an MP3. The room for independent thought has been closed down. In an age of vacuous pop is it still important for music to have a political voice, and can it have an effect? Well it can’t change the world, but there is room for music to say ‘something’. Look at Ed Sheeran, he wrote a song about a prostitute who takes drugs and dies, and it became a worldwide hit. The video has had over 60 million hits, so people are still making a connection with messages in music.
DEVON MUSIC | NOVEMBER 2013
BILLY BRAGG
COMPETITION
Just answer this simple question:
It was thirty years ago when the Saturday boy from Essex who would become Britain’s foremost political singer-songwriter released his first record. Win a pair of tickets for his forthcoming show at the Great Hall and see why Billy is as vital today as he ever was.
What is the name of Billy’s debut record that he re-released last month for it’s 30th anniversary? Email your answer to: competitions@devon-music.com or send us a direct message via Twitter or facebook. Competition closes 01/12 /devonmusicmag /D e v o n M u s i c M a g DEVON MUSIC | NOVEMBER 2013
BILLY BRAGG
FEATURE
Ed Byrne - Roaring Forties Ed Byrne says he’s a miserable old git. He didn’t celebrate his 40th birthday last year and his new show, Roaring Forties, is partly about the many things in life that annoy him. But in the flesh he’s smart and funny, and as for being a party pooper... Well, not really – he’s planning a celebration in November when his tour reaches Glasgow, the city where his career began 20 years ago after he had studied horticulture at the University of Strathclyde.
The Irish observational comic, who grew up in Swords in Dublin, started re-evaluating his life after that landmark birthday, as you do, and it gave him the idea for Roaring Forties, which is his trademark mix of one-liners and extended anecdotes, and covers a range of subjects from fatherhood and friendships to vasectomies and driving awareness courses . “It’s about getting older,” Byrne says, “about being at an age where you’re not really that old but no one thinks you’re trendy anymore.” Byrne has embraced middle age and reached the conclusion that on the whole people annoy him. “It’s like a spring-clean of my life,” says Byrne, “and I’ve come up with reasons why you can’t be my friend. There are seven billion people on the planet and I only have the time to be friends with 10 of them and so I have to choose carefully.” What are his rules? “It’s the little things that annoy me,” he says. Such as? “People who don’t indicate on roundabouts, people who uses the phrase, ‘Touched a nerve there’, or ‘I’m just making conversation’...” The list runs on.
“But my wife and my family are really funny and Claire understands what goes with the job. Actually she comes off very well and people say our relationship – very sparky, very joshing - comes across. I can’t think of a time when she’s said you can’t use this, but if she did, I’d not use it. “As for the kids, any stuff I do about them I seriously doubt in years to come they’ll hate me for and make me pay for their therapy,” he says with a laugh. “Although I am aware that there’s an age at which you have to be sensitive to their wishes and not embarrass them, but that’s some years off.” Talking of sensitive matters, Byrne finds the funny about having a vasectomy, but he was also under the surgeon’s knife recently when he tried to move a compost bin in his garden and gave himself a hernia. Fans may have seen him exposing his midriff on Graham Norton’s BBC programme to show off his war wounds, but they’re healed now. “It’s all fine, and I’m stronger than ever before,” he says. The Irishman is actually super-fit; a keen hillwalker, he recently climbed Mont Blanc and bags Munros in Scotland. As he is about to mark 20 years in the business, has he noticed any differences in his performances over that time? “One thing that has changed is that I now don’t pretend to think something for the sake of a joke. I mean there’s always comic exaggeration and embroidering a story to make it funnier, but it’s more true to my life now. I used to say I hated kids, for example, and it wasn’t true – I’ve always loved kids and wanted to have them, but that wouldn’t have fitted with the style of comic I was earlier in my career.
“I think being truthful makes it more chancy, but if I take an opinion and try to find a way to make it funny How flexible is he? Could we negotiate if I forget to – even if people don’t agree with me - I think it pays indicate just the once, for instance? “I don’t have time off because audiences know what’s authentic.” for you! If we have to get into a debate about it, then no,” he says, laughing. His fanbase is, he says, “pretty broad” - people of his own age and above, and teenagers who know Being the married father of two young sons (with him from his Mock the Week appearances, while his publicist wife, Claire) has given him lots of new some of his audience is drawn from from his TV things to talk about on stage, but do Claire and his advertisements and occasional acting roles. family, who often appear in his material, ever object? “It’s something that most comics experience,” Byrne Byrne may do more acting as he has some ideas replies. “People know what you do for a living and bubbling away for a sitcom – no doubt one about a then they complain when you mention them in the miserable middle-aged git one of them - and who act, and I’ve certainly had at least one girlfriend in knows if we’ll lose him to the small screen. the past who objected. Catch him live while you can.
DEVON MUSIC | NOVEMBER 2013
ED BYRNE
What are the best and worse things about being on tour? The best thing about being on tour is the time spent on stage. I know that sounds trite or showbizzy but I genuinely enjoy myself while I’m doing stand up. The stuff you’re paying for when you buy your ticket is stuff like the time I spent writing the show, the time I spend sitting in the car, the evenings spent in hotel lobbies eating lousy sandwiches. Also, as a father of two young boys, I quite enjoy getting to have a guilt free lie in. worse thing about being on tour – Traffic. What kind of music do you listen to on the road? Ben, my support act is a bit of a mod and also bit of an ageing punk so bands like The Jam and Wire will get a look in. I’m more of a grunge fan so Pearl Jam and Soundgarden get a regular airing. We also both really enjoy Public Service Broadcasting who are a great new band. Mainly, though we listen to a lot of Radio 4 comedy that I’ve bought like Fags Mags and Bags, Down the Line and The Bob Servant E-mails. All very funny stuff. Do you enjoy working on the festival circuit and why? Do you have a favourite festival? Since becoming a family man I don’t go to the festivals as much as I used to but I used to love feeling like part of a massive global travelling band. You’d do comedy festivals in Montreal, Edinburgh, Kilkenny, Adelaide, Melbourne, Auckland and you’d be bumping into the same faces. Not just the same comics but the same stage crew and promoters too, so you sort of feel at home everywhere. I think Edinburgh would have to be my favourite festival. Can you recommend Farming Simulator 2014? It’s not for everyone, and I have to admit I have now succumbed and bought a copy of Grand Theft Auto V so the ploughing has taken a backseat for now.
DEVON MUSIC | NOVEMBER 2013
FESTIVAL ROUND UP
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FEATURE We caught up with Don Broco’s oh so charming lead man Mr Rob Damiani in the wake of their upcoming UK tour, to talk about their rise through the underground ranks, the infamous ‘Rob Damiani Wall of Death’, and to find out just how irritating it is when people get their name wrong. Hey! It would seem that ‘Don Broco’ is often mispronounced and sometimes misspelt (Don BRONCO, really?), which we assume must be at the least slightly frustrating, so let’s start with clearing up the little matter of how your name is actually pronounced, is it ‘Brocco’ or ‘Bro-co’? Aha, no one’s sure, everyone’s confused. It adds to the mystery about us though eh? It is a little annoying sometimes when we’re called the wrong thing, but you could say we brought it on ourselves for having a stupid name. To clear it up though it is pronounced Bro-co, like ‘Han Solo’.
What would you attribute your current success to? That’s quite a big question. If I said one thing then it would have to be the album. As you know we’ve been slogging it out for years on the underground scene, and we had a fan base of course...and through word of mouth etc people had heard of us, but it wasn’t until we put out ‘Priorities’ that people really started hearing us. All the radio play and the festivals is because of the album. It’s gotta be down to that. At what point do you imagine you can allow yourself the luxury of thinking ‘yep that’s cool, we’ve made it’, or do you think that ideal is a bit of a fallacy that never actually exists? When the band first started our dream was to play Reading and Leeds. This year we’ve ticked that one off, but nothing’s changed ‘day to day’. We still get up and do what we normally do, and we’re not driving around in Lamborghinis. We’ve signed to a major label so we could think ‘oh all our problems are over’, but aside from everything being a little more rushed nothing’s changed really. We’re currently writing but there’s still the same pressure to get new music out before people forget. The goalposts are always moving that’s all: playing bigger venues, selling more albums. It definitely doesn’t feel like we’ve made it yet.
Your rise to mainstream success has been a long time in coming, how does it feel hearing your songs being played on Radio 1, and finding yourself playing at big festivals? Is it still all a bit ‘surreal’ right now? Playing bigger festivals hasn’t felt particularly surreal, but we’ve played lots of smaller festivals so we’ve at least had that experience, we had time to prepare and psyche ourselves up, although maybe it has been a little bit this year with playing the main stage at Reading and Leeds. It’s one of those festivals we’ve always looked at and thought how great it would be to play, to then find ourselves there and see how it all works, behind the scenes etc, was pretty surreal. Radio on the other hand, I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to. You can be doing normal, mundane things, and then hear yourself on the radio. It’s quite weird, but always exciting. Every time we hear one of our songs we get psyched up, and it’s a little reminder of the cool things we’re doing.
DEVON MUSIC | NOVEMBER 2013
DON BROCO
Do you think success comes at a price? I guess so, yeah. There’s always a price, it’s just what that price is...what do you give up for it? We’ve seen places we never thought we’d see through touring, but we don’t see so much of our friends, or get to go out with ‘the boys’. Since school we’ve had this thing where once a year we all get together [with school friends] and go on holiday and the last 2 years we haven’t been able to do that. It does sometimes feel like we’re slipping away from these people we’ve known for years. Promo schedules, recording, touring all mean less free time. What are you guys doing at the moment? We are starting to work on our second album. We’ve got the buzz for writing! We want to get as much done as possible before tour so we’re currently non-stop. It’s the next chapter of Don Broco - what it’s gonna be about. We haven’t written anything at all since ‘Priorities’ so it’s been pretty fun jamming again.
The Rob Damiani Wall of Death? Aha. Well it died a death at Reading Festival. I’d invested quite a lot of money in new in ear monitors, and wasn’t thinking properly. I got involved with the audience as per and as I clambered out realised that they’d been swallowed up in the mosh pit. A bit of a disaster really. I have been hurt doing this too though - I sprained my back at Sonisphere, but it didn’t stop me...I did You’re heading out across the UK at the end of November, it again later on at Hevy. what is the best thing about touring? This probably sounds a bit lame or boring but the best thing is the shows themselves. The camaraderie with the boys, but also getting to play the shows and seeing the reactions of the audience, people jumping up and down and singing along, seeing how our songs make people feel. Nothing compares to that. It’s a huge buzz.
If DB were to release a cover song what song would you pick and why?
We have a cover of Alunageorge’s ‘You Know You Like It’ as a b-side on ‘You Wanna Know’, which I really enjoyed singing...we gave it a full band, rocky feel. I’d love to have a go at something and turning it into a big live tune though. Maybe something from the last Drake album - it’s one of my What’s the worst thing about touring? favourite non rock albums from the last few years. There’s Ah, the worse thing is when you’ve had a really heavy night lots on there that could be covered. out and there’s no release from a hangover. You can’t just write off the next day. The first 10-15 minutes of that show As you are already aware, the music industry is a tough cookie to crack, what would be your top 3 tips to a band is the WORSE time. starting out? ‘You Wanna Know’ is the first Donny B video that doesn’t have a ‘comedy’ edge. Is this a sign of a more ‘serious’ I’d say 1) Write lots and lots of songs. Lots of good songs. Donny B for the future? You can’t write too many songs, only 1 in 20 might actually be really good. 2) Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Friends, We approached the new video based on the song. Maybe family, anyone you know who maybe can help get you a subconsciously we wanted to do something ‘different’ and gig or put you in touch with someone. Everyone needs we’d never done a performance video before. We do love support. I don’t know a single successful band who has thinking up concepts for videos though, it was just a nice done it without help of some kind. 3) Play live. Don’t hide break to go back to basics. We’ve always admired bands like away hoping someone’s going to come pluck you out of Foo Fighters and Blink 182 for having the ability to make obscurity, you’ve gotta get out there. comedy videos and still be taken seriously. We’ve definitely got a sense of humour so there’s always going to be an What’s the plan for DB in 2014? element of that in our videos. Releasing the next album and more touring. We’d love What happened to the ‘Rob Damiani Wall of Death?’ Were to get overseas again at some point, but the big thing is you ever seriously hurt doing this? [Rob likes to go stand releasing new music. MARRIANE HARRIS in the middle of walls of death at Don Broco shows] Catch Don Broco at Exeter Lemon Grove on 2nd December with support from Bad Rabbits & Lonely The Brave
DEVON MUSIC | NOVEMBER 2013
DON BROCO
COMPETITION
Just answer this simple question:
Don Broco hit Exeter on December 2nd for their biggest West Country show to date. They are joined by multi-cultural, genre hopping US 5 piece Bad Rabbits and Cambridge rockers Lonely The Brave. You and a pal could be right there in the front row courtesy of Devon Music by just answering this little question.
Which popular fitness exercise are Don Broco known for encouraging mid-gig? Email your answer to: competitions@devon-music.com or send us a direct message via Twitter or facebook. Competition closes 29/11 /devonmusicmag /D e v o n M u s i c M a g DEVON MUSIC | NOVEMBER 2013
DON BROCO
FEATURE
We chatted to bass player Sam Douglas just a few weeks before the biggest tour of their career to date...
Hello Mallory Knox. How are you today? Hello there, we are very well thank you. What a nice & polite way to start an interview!
songs back down to what they were when they were first written. As for a full album i’m not sure, probably not at this moment in time but who knows for the future.
The band is named after a Serial Killer from the film Natural Born Killers, what cereal could you murder in the morning? These days i’m not so much of a cereal man, in fact i’m not that much of a breakfast man which is pretty terrible really but i’ve sometimes enjoyed Frosties now & then on the rare occasion.
We read in a recent interview Mikey jokingly said he had auditioned for Harry Potter. If you could be any film character who would it be & why? I’d probably be that guy from Transformers. I mean who doesn’t want to have friends from another planet that are these huge giant machines & save the world & get to make out with Megan Fox every day for like a year!
Which social networking site is your favourite & why? We know Dave likes using Vine. Dave does like Vine! I think it’s because he craves attention so is loud pretty much all the time & that allows people to watch him whenever he needs to feel loved i guess. I would say twitter for me though. I like how simple it is & you can follow who/what you want & follow your favourite celebrities/football teams/bands. It’s just a great way to keep up to date with whats going on in the world & anything that’s relevant to you. I don’t tend to watch the news anymore because twitter will keep me informed! It’s also a great way to communicate with people that care about our band too. Things have moved extremely quickly for you these last 12 months or so, how do you guys feel about that? It’s been an amazing year. We are all very very grateful for what we’ve been able to achieve, we’ve done some things this year we never thought 5 years ago would have been possible. Saying all that though it still very much feels like it’s only the beginning. Obviously we’ve been a band for 4 years now but this year i guess has kind of felt like the start! How did it feel opening the Main Stage at Reading & Leeds this summer? I really don’t think there is any other way to put it other than saying it really was a dream come true. It’s that show you dream about playing as a kid. I mean my favourite band of all time Blink-182 headlined it a couple of years back. I’ve said it before but if you asked all the bands in the world what stage would they dream of playing a lot of bands would say Main Stage Reading & Leeds. We had all of our family come down, alot of people came to watch us, alot of people having seen us play to 50 people through the years at random shows. It was a special moment & one we will remember for the rest of our lives i’m sure. What have been your other highlights of 2013? I think having our debut album Signals make the Top 40 in the official Album chart. People say facts & figures don’t matter and all that but for 5 lads who live in the ass end of nowhere out in the sticks it’s something we were very proud of. It was one of those things when i was 14 and you told me i’ll be in a band that has a debut album that will hit top 40 on it’s week of release i would have said you’ve got the wrong guy mate.
What has been your favourite album so far this year? Cor, there has been a few but i reckon i’d have to say The 1975 record. I haven’t looked forward to an album coming out that much for years and once i had it i didn’t stop listening to it straight for a month. Do you guys ever play practical jokes on eachother? Got any great stories you can tell us? I think if we didn’t on tour we’d lose our minds. Our humour is very much based on taking the mick out of each other. If we are all together i guarantee at least 1 of us will be being laughed at by the rest of us. It’s not so much a practical joke but i remember touring a few years back, it was one of our first because we were doing the whole sleeping in the van thing & it had rained all day & we had wound Dave up somehow and me & Mikey were out of the van having a chat. Dave was talking to himself under his breath, obviously annoyed at how much we’d been laughing at his expense. Next thing you know he’s trying to get all his sleeping stuff ready for the night & he ends up dropping his only pillow in a puddle and all i remember is him screaming swear word after swear word. I think i laughed so hard i cried. Whats the plan for 2014. New album perhaps? It’s gonna be a busy one i hope but yes a new album is in the works. We are still in the demoing stage right now but we are hoping to have it all ready to record at some point next year! You’re heading out on a headline UK tour in November, what can your fans expect from these shows? Yes we are & i can’t wait. It’s definitely the longest tour we’ve done and some of the biggest venues we’ve ever headlined so it was all a bit daunting but we are so excited about it. It’s going to be the perfect way to end this year, i guess every show is almost going to be a celebration in that sense. We always give it 100 percent & as the crowds get bigger we seem to thrive off it more. So yeah the shows will definitely be longer, but hopefully bigger & better too!
Mallory Knox do acoustic rather well, do you have any plans to make a full acoustic album? It’s something we’ve been focusing on a little more than we used to. The high majority of our songs are written acoustically, well the basic idea of them anyway so i guess it’s kind of easy to strip the
DEVON MUSIC | NOVEMBER 2013
MALLORY KNOX
PREVIEWS TRC
Hard, fast and HEAVY!
Nominated as “Best British Band” at the 2012 Metal Hammer Awards, TRC combine harsh, street influenced hardcore with strict underground UK Hip Hop and Grime. Expect gravelly rap vocals infused with pounding riffs and beats. Oh, and a really decent mosh!! Nov 15 | White Rabbit, Plymouth
FOR FANS OF: YOUR DEMISE / BRUTALITY WILL PREVAIL / POLAR
For all your Pink Floyd needs
Featuring top class musicians, the band aims to perfect the atmosphere of the great Pink Floyd in concert. The whole back catalogue is featured in two different shows: The “Pulse Show” is based on the Gilmour led 80’s and 90’s. The “60’s and 70’s Show” selects songs from the band’s earlier period. Altogether it’s the complete Pink Floyd experience so sit back and enjoy! FOR FANS OF: WELL ....PINK FLOYD, OF COURSE!
HACKTIVIST
Nov 22 | White Rabbit, Plymouth
Nov 15 | Corn Exchange - Exeter
Bounce to the BASS!
Featuring ex-members of Heart of a Coward and Margot Kidder, hard-hitting, raw energy is assured at any Hacktivist show. With bass as heavy as you can handle and two rap vocalists, these boys are LOUD but having caught them several times on the festival circuit this summer we defy you not to get down to this new brand of metal. FOR FANS OF: TESSERACT / MONUMENTS / BORN OF OSIRIS
A unique blend of punk and folk
The Bad Shepherds play punk songs on folk instruments. Not as a joke, but because they really like the noise. Third album ‘Mud, Blood and Beer’ was released recently - a beautifully-crafted album of classic punk and alternative songs loving reimagined by The Bad Shepherds in their distinctive folk style. And with Adrian Edmonson at the helm, how can you not have fun at this show!?! FOR FANS OF: MADNESS / BELLOWHEAD / JOHN OTWAY
NINE BLACK ALPS
Nov 28 | The Cavern - Exeter
DEVON MUSIC | NOVEMBER 2013
UK PINK FLOYD EXPERIENCE
THE BAD SHEPHERDS
Nov 22 | The Phoenix - Plymouth
Post-grunge indie-rock from up north
Formed in 2003, this indie-alternative rock band from Manchester take their name from “The Couriers”, by Sylvia Plath. The band came to prominence with the release of debut album, Everything Is in 2005. These days you can expect chiming guitars and persistent, stonking beats teamed with catchy hooks and a huge dose of 90’s era grunge. FOR FANS OF: HUNDRED REASONS / IDLEWILD / ASH
PREVIEWS THE WURZELS
Nov 29 | Lemon Grove - Exeter
West country British scrumpy and western heroes!
Best known for their 1976 number one hit ‘The Combine Harvester’ but with a history stretching nearly 40 years, The Wurzels are still drawing huge crowds and charming audiences young and old with their cider-fuelled country singalongs and unusual choices of covers. You can bet your bottom dollar they’ll get the party started and have you dancing and singing along! FOR FANS OF: CHAS N DAVE / ROLF HARRIS / MUD
Aggressive American thrash metal
HAVOK
This Colorado based thrash metal outfit was formed in 2004 and are a must-see for any fan of live music. This band puts their own stamp on the genre by employing a more technical side of music, while maintaining the feel. HAVOK’s live show is where the band really catches peoples’ attention, with their non-stop energy level and their ability to get the audience involved. FOR FANS OF: EVILE / SODOM / ANVIL
AKALA
Dec 03 | The Cavern - Exeter
Nov 29 | White Rabbit - Plymouth
Not your average hippity hopper
At first glance, Akala is straight outta hip hop central casting but scratch the surface and you will discover a glorious mixture of electro-funk keyboards vs metal riffs vs classical piano that attempts to break down the culture of cliché and stereotype that smothers the genre. Edutainment is the name of the game and Akala strives to encourage people to dig a little deeper. FOR FANS OF: KANO / LETHAL B / BASHY
Starting their own revolution
Fueled by a demand for change, a new punk rock revolution is igniting the music scene and leading the pack is the female fronted politically-charged Los Angeles based band, Barb Wire Dolls. Combining the furious elements of first wave punk, the rawness of grunge rock and thrashmetal flourishes into a hard edged primal sound. FOR FANS OF: 7 YEAR BITCH / COURTNEY LOVE / CHAOS UK
65DAYSOFSTATIC
Mar 05 | The Phoenix - Exeter
DEVON MUSIC | NOVEMBER 2013
BARB WIRE DOLLS
Dec 07 | The Hub - Plymouth
Sheffield’s prog-rock math-metal heroes
Interspersing heavy, progressive, guitar-driven instrumental sections with both live drums and IDM-esque programmed beats, 65days’ albums maintain a distinctively gritty, almost industrial feel. The band, originally named after an unreleased John Carpenter film, have just released new record ‘Wild Light’ and it’s a doozy, this is going to be a very special show indeed. FOR FANS OF: MOGWAI / OCEANSIZE / MAYBESHEWILL
FEATURE Mad Dog Mcrea - Purple Happy Bus Tour Mad Dog Mcrea raise hands, lift feet and start parties wherever they play with their spellbinding recipe of folk, pop, rock, jazz, bluegrass and ‘shake your ass’ music. They demand you to dance, whisking up whistles, fiddles and mandolins to collide in a spectacular explosion of infectious fun. We had a little chat with them ahead of their ‘Away With The Fairies Tour’ which sees them taking in no less than 27 towns and cities up and down the country.
What inspired you to start making music? Our fans first inspired us to write our own songs. We started like a lot of bands doing obscure covers but later gained confidence in our own song writing with the help of constructive feedback from our audience. There is no better feeling than an audience singing your songs and lyrics back at you at gigs. Our music is a mixture of story telling, metaphorical and abstract concepts and it’s fascinating when people come back to you with their different interpretation of the songs. What can we expect from the new album? The new album was recorded live in a studio in Devon. It’s a mixture of some of our older stuff and a couple of new songs. We have always wanted to capture the live energy of the band and that’s what this album is all about. It is also a good representation of our current live set and line-up of the band What was your best festival experience this summer? Playing the Avalon stage at Glastonbury this summer was a highlight as we had a very good slot and it was amazing to hear the 2000 strong audience singing along to lots of our songs. The Plymouth Volks fest was another highlight as we played to a full tent and the atmosphere was electric. What’s on the stereo in the purple happy bus? Listening to a guy from Essex called ‘David Hughes’ a lot at the moment. He is quite a unique songwriter. We play a lot of Gypsy Jazz on the bus and the new Daft Punk album is great driving music. Why should we come out to see your show? So we can bring you on a journey on our ‘Happy Bus’.
DEVON MUSIC | NOVEMBER 2013
MAD DOG MCREA
ONES TO WATCH
So, who are you and what do you do in the band? Hi, I’m Dave Mooney and I play drums in I Divide and this is Mr Kitty who is helping with the interview. If you had to invent a new genre that describes your music, what would you call it? Sexy Circle-Core. Where have your biggest influences come from? Musically I think we’ve all been through phases of types of music that have influenced us through the years but the ones that have lasted the test of time are always the greats! So in answer to your question three bands that have consistently wowed us are Linkin Park, Jimmy Eat World and Foo Fighters. The music industry is getting more and more difficult for up and coming bands. Are there any particularly important lessons you’ve learned so far? Don’t put all your eggs in one basket! I’d also say that being nice has always helped, nobody likes a Mr Nasty!
I Divide are tipped as one of the hottest breakthrough artists this year, with a fast paced, raw energy performance that leaves crowds gasping for air and begging for more. Hailing from the dark depths of Exeter, the quintet have stormed on to the national scene and are ready to make their mark. This band prove that hard work and persistence goes a long way, producing quality tracks and sing along choruses that hook listeners from the get go. After being announced as winners of the Red Bull Bedroom Jam competition in 2012, the band spent this summer racking up memorable performances at many festivals (including giving us a right proper wake up at Download 2013). With an album on the horizon in the new year 2014 looks set to be their year, ladies and gentlemen, we give you I Divide. P.S. Dave loves cats.
DAVE
What do you see as the pros and cons of being based in Devon? Do you ever feel pressure to relocate to the capital? We’ve never really felt any major pressure to move to London, it is definitely something we’ve spoken about a fair few times though. The cons of it are obviously that 99% of gigs you play are always at least 2 or 3 hours drive away, which racks up the fuel bill! We’re in London normally a couple of times a month so it would make it a lot easier on that front. The pros to Devon are that it’s a nice environment to live in, it’s like living in the Lord of the rings. You guys played some pretty big festivals this summer, which was your favourite and why? Download Festival was the one for us. It’s the one we’ve all been going to for years when we were younger and was always a big milestone for us. We actually played the Red Bull tent last year and then got invited back to play the Second Stage at this years so the buzz for us around the step up stage-wise made it feel particularly special! If you suddenly became the biggest band in the world, who would you get to support you? Justin Timberlake, Alexisonfire, Animals as Leaders and Beardyman. Do you have any other hidden talents, other than your musical skills? We have many! I am blackbelt in origami, Josh is a rather skilled free runner, Kristen can drink a whole puddle through a straw, Kav has the best voice-over voice you’ve ever heard and Henry can take all his clothes off in under 3 seconds. We heard that Dave LOVES cats. Tell us a few more of your favourite things! I like to force frisbee on the band at any opportunity. We’re slowly starting to get freakishly good! We do enjoy a good party, we can regularly be seen cutting some shapes on the dancefloor after our shows. There’s also a running joke in the band that kristen’s favourite past time is jumping up and down.
MR KITTY For more info visit facebook.com/IDivideband DEVON MUSIC | NOVEMBER 2013
And finally….why should we come check out your show? We give it 100% beans every show. All the guys are on wireless, can’t keep them on stage, it’s pandemonium! We just love to get everyone pumped and having an awesome time!
ZAN LAWTHER
FOR FANS OF: YOUNG GUNS / BLITZ KIDS / MALLORY KNOX
I DIVIDE
TRC
NOV 1 // LEMON GROVE
OCT 29 // VOODOO LOUNGE
TRC
NOV 22 // WHITE RABBIT NOV 15 // WHITE RABBIT
AKALA NOV 23 // THE PHOENIX NOV 24 // WHITE RABBIT
DEC 3 // CAVERN
DEC 2 // LEMON GROVE
65 DAYS OF STATIC
DAN LE SAC VS
SCROOBIUS PIP JAN 28 // LEMON GROVE
MAR 25 // PHOENIX
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