Welcome to Pornography For Cowards #5 It’s April 6th and the sun is shining but here I am, sitting in my room with only a bottle of cough mixture and a small stack of LPs to keep me company. Honestly, who manages to fall ill when the weather is so lovely after such a cold and bitter winter? Although my insides feel bruised from over a week of constant coughing fits I can’t help but smile as I tie the loose ends up on another issue of PFC. I finish my life as a student in just over a month and it’s got me thinking about how fun the last three years have been. I started the first year at UCA as a loud mouthed, arrogant teenager who would blame anyone but himself if something went wrong before slowly turning into the guy I am now. Nobody is perfect but for all my flaws I’m quite happy with the person I’ve become.
So what’s happened since issue 4 hit the store? Slowyear have gone from strength to strength and I started working with Burn Daylight to release his most emo EP to date after we all shared a long weekend playing shows around the south of England. I joined the Already Heard team and once again I tried to get into a gym routine, managing a whole two weeks before dropping out. Other highlights include finally seeing - and interviewing - Big D And The Kids Table, making plans for Groezrock 2012 and realising that finishing university really isn’t the end of the world. Thank you to everybody who helped produce this issue, from the bands to the writers. A big thanks to Sam Dunn for the cover illustration.
To start off with, how’s everything in the Big D camp at the moment? At the moment things are a bit fun. While I was couch/bed ridden from my recent Cancer ass-kicking (me doing the asskicking), I went through all the Big D songs that were cut from past records spanning from 1995-2011 and put together our D-Sides record. It’s great. The tracks are bad ass. I don’t know why we cut some of them. I also edited a bunch of Radio Interviews to be inserted in between the tracks. I don’t recommend listening to yourself answer questions for over 4 hours. My God I learned to hate my laugh. And finally my Dredknocks (video team) and me are finishing up the Big D DVD titled ‘Built Up From Nothing’. It’s footage from 19952011 as well. So when I say things are fun, basically it’s fun finishing up a lot of projects that I have been keen on closing.
If I remember correctly (feel free to correct me if I’m wrong), ‘For The Damned’ was recorded with a whole range of different producers and studios. Did the disjointed process change the way the band worked when recording? ‘For the Damned’ was recorded in a new studio, with no producer…well unless I count. I call this record - ‘The Miracle Record’. One could say the God’s were against it, yet the people were for it. Big D seems to get us in a lot of debt from vans breaking down, trailers busting up and a lot more unfortunate events. We were up to about 40k of debt. So when we found out that we were not going to get a recording budget for our new record, that news hit us very hard, because we were not in a position to go even further into dbpt. So what happened…well that’s the miracle part.
I got on the phone with everyone in Boston that Big D has ever worked for and illuminated the situation. For no costs at all and for 2 1/2 months, over 4-5 studios, 4-5 engineers, drum techs, guitars techs and more all opened their doors and offered their time to get this record made. I was basically the facilitator, the secretary, calling certain band members that had a day off of work, getting them to studios across town, driving home late and setting up the next day. Everyone involved was a hero. I like to say the record was made on merit alone. All in all it was a hard, but a great experience. Everyone showed that the music could come before the business. Kenny from The Elephant Music Group
America needs to re-write what Capitalism is and if that means having to borrow a bit from Socialism and allowing the government (that should be run by ‘the people’) make restrictions on business, than I believe that’s smart. The GOP (Republican party) always talks about making a smaller government, pretending that it’s for the good of the people, but they know they want a smaller government so there will be less restriction on corporations. That way Corporations can run the people like modern day slaves. It’s a scam. Whatever restrictions the GOP thinks should be put on the government should be also put on Corporations, because as far as power is concerned, and power is the topic here – they are the same. Or as well all know the
“With our current form of Capitalism, America now has Kings. They may not be called Kings, but they are Kings just them same” (recording studio) in Arlington MA and Alex Hartmen should be recognized – Champs…!!! After watching the ‘Zombies On Wall St.’ video, what do you think is the next step for the 99% is now that a lot of the Occupy Wall Street groups (and its variants) have been disbanded or simply fizzled out? I feel with the Occupy Movements there was a lot of progress made. However, they never surfaced a representative or came out with written changes that they would like to see implemented. Don’t get me wrong…I support that movement with everything I got, but what was suppose to happen after the sit in? I think it will fizzle out; the current form of Capitalism is far, far too strong for it. With our current form of Capitalism, America now has Kings. They may not be called Kings, but they are Kings just them same. And these Kings run the land and the peasants (middle &lower class) are not yet in position to over throw them. Yet we all know what happens when the people get fed up.
Corporations are more powerful than the government. Like I mentioned before, America has Kings again now. Who is ‘My Buddy’s Back’ about? ‘My Buddies Back’, is more about mine and all of my friend’s, friends who are or were serving in the military. Here’s an interesting note: America has been Policing the world for so long, some of our youth only know of our country to be at war. I wonder what kind of generation that creates. Hopefully a peaceful one. So you’ve already covered The Specials and (loosely)Althea and Donna - who would you like to cover next? DRI – In the Pit Beastie Boys – Brand New. Was there any point during Big D’s history you were tempted to throw the towel in and pick a more stable career? No. I am a fairly perceptive person and I foresaw our economy collapsing. You don’t live like we did in the early 2000’s with Hummers, Paris Hillton, Blink 182
and Limp Biscuit and not think…this party will soon be over. The entire life style had an expiration date. So as a Middle Class kid I thought, I could work as a battery for some bigger entity, a
I know we’re going back a little here, but could you tell us who performed the female vocals on Girls Against Drunk Bitches? How’d that come about?
“Nothing is really ‘strange’ to me anymore. We did play a gay club in France once. Painted all over the walls were men having sex with each other. “ modern day slave, or I could live like a gypsy, play music and see our world. I asked myself - What does quality of life mean? On a side tangent - some people say that American’s don’t like to travel. It’s not that at all, we just can’t afford it. I knew my choice were always correct to not be in the social mold. I just wish other knew as well. There is currently a small ska / reggae revival going on over here how is Ska doing over in the USA? SKA is doing how it always does here, save what happened in the 90’s…it’s an underground style you can research and enjoy, if you like. America just likes that packaged club stuff now with the four on the floor bass drum. Adele helped show that all the bikini dancing singers are a bit tacky – thank God. We have that song ‘Stingers’ which means a Stripper & a Singer combined. That what we have now – ‘Stingers’. Our country is really tacky right now, but the again so are most other countries. Where was the strangest place you played outside the US? Nothing is really ‘strange’ to me anymore. We did play a gay club that was closed for our show once in France. That was weird because painted all over the walls were men having sex with each other. That was a bit ‘strange’. Gay or straight it was strange. We played a side of a building that had exploded out in Switzerland once. But that was more ‘very dangerous’ though.
That’s Marium; she was in a metal band called Mancian. She’s wonderful in every sense. A long time friend. You should see her live, there is nothing like it. Nothing. You’ve mentioned Allston quite a few times in your lyrics over the years but to us that really is nothing more than a name on a map. Can you expand more on what it means to you all, how it influenced you? Allston Massachusetts is where you live if you’re a young adult in Boston. It’s basically a section of Boston. All the musicians live there. It’s crappy and dirty, but all your friends have a home there so it’s the best. There is a lot of comradely there as well. One could say it’s the young people’s ghetto. It’s a family of good people. It also is a place that lacks all the different styles of caddy’ness and portentousness that is found in most of the world. It’s not much to look at; you have to be emerged in it to enjoy it. It’s a safe zone filled with inspiriting, talented people. Yes. I like Allston Massachusetts. None of us in the PFC camp have ever managed to catch you playing ‘You’re Me Now’ when you’ve played over here – what’s the chances of it entering the set list again come august? A great chance, it’s in the set list to be played come April. I love that song as well. Thanks for chatting. Thank you Richard and take good care.
PAUL PHILLIPS Paul Phillips almost leads a double life. To many he is known as the drummer of the sadly defunct Meet Me In St Louis and tropics but to others he is known as spilt milk. criminally underrated, we talk to paul about his skills both behind the kit and behind the pencil.
“Don’t do a load of pills two nights in a row if you’ve gotta drive to Inverness and back the next day!” I knew you were in Meet Me In St Louis but I didn’t realise you featured members of Colour as well. What happened to the previous bands? Basically what happened was, when MMISL broke up, Lewis went and joined Colour I took some time out of playing for about four months, Ben disappeared, Oli took some time out and Toby carried on with Shoes and socks off. about a year later Tropics who already existed and had been around for about a year or two lost all their current members to other bands with the exception of Jodie Cox who was the founder of the band. He decided to carry on but to look for new members. I offered to play drums as Jodie and I had played in bands in college together. We were originally going to be the only key members and just have a revolving line up, but then this started to seem unnecessarily impractical so I suggested seeing if Oli and Lewis wanted to get involved, pretty much at the same time Colour disbanded. When we asked them they were up for it, and thus the newer much heavier version of Tropics was born. When you started off drumming, who were your influences? How have they changed over the years? When I very first started I guess my influences were people like Abe from Deftones and David Silvera from Korn and although he’s not a technically good drummer Mitch Wheeler from Will Haven simply because he plays for the song, he never tries to play beyond his capabilities and he just has a way of giving their music the swing and the power it needs. These days I guess I’m more influenced by Ben Koller from Converge and Thomas Prigden for his work with the Mars Volta. I’m also a huge fan of Chris Pennie. Looking through the flyers you’ve got online, you seem to have played some great shows but they seem quite far apart - do you wish Tropics could play more often? What stops you? It would be great if we had the time to play more shows, and we do intend to in the future, but at the moment Tropics works around our lives rather than our lives around Tropics. We’ve all been in hard touring bands in the past where we literally lived for the band, and we all feel now that this is an unhealthy and an unnecessary way to do things. I am doing my Degree, Jodie is a booking agent has a part time job in a record store and is in Narrows so he has to fly out to the states every few months to tour with them, also Oli now works for Hassle records looking after bands like Trash Talk, Cerebral Ballzy and The James Cleaver Quintet so he’s super busy all the time as well. So we are lucky if we get to practice twice a month. The plan is to record our album this summer, see who wants to release it and then when it’s out, book a few week long tours over the course of the year.
I never realised you played with Throats and November Coming Fire in 2010 - how’d that come about? That was NCF’s first show back since breaking up, it was a halloween special I think, I’m pretty sure we were asked because Jodie is friends with a couple of the guys and I think we just got asked. Also the promoter Ross is a good friend of ours and slings us good support slots now and again. Given the chance, would you ever play something like SXSW in Texas when the costs are placed solely on the bands shoulders? SXSW is something I would never say never to, but to be honest, we aren’t careerist about our band, we do it because we really like hanging out with each other and playing riffs together, we only take shows if they are economically viable and we like to keep things pretty chilled. I guess we could drop what we are doing and put everything into the band, but we all know what that means and what it entails and to be blunt, these days with the scene’s so overly saturated with bands that all sound derivative, there really is no point in trying to get ‘noticed’. What advice would you give a young band starting to tour? 1. Make sure you have breakdown cover. 2. If the sound man insists that you turn your amps down to the point where the drummer can’t hear the guitars, then set the kit up in front of the amps so he can here. Don’t be afraid to set up in unconventional ways in order to get a better onstage sound. 3. If your band’s sound is meant to be loud and the sound guy tries to turn you down by saying things like, ‘I won’t be able to get the vocals up loud enough”etc etc just leave the amps up loud and sacrifice some of the vocals. If the sound guy doesn’t like this, that’s tough for him but be nice about it. Sound guys are just trying to do a job. 4. If a promoter says he’s going to pay you a certain amount and on the night no-one turns up because it’s been poorly promoted, and he tries to pay you less than the agreed amount. Frog march that fuck to a cash point. 5. Touring can get stressy. A lot of hangovers combined with long drives can test relationships within the band. Just remember who your bro’s are and don’t let petty arguments sour your time. 6. Moderate drug taking. Don’t do a load of pills two nights in a row if you’ve got to drive to inverness and back the next day.
Left: Lesbian Robots done for The Catharsis Previous Spread: Shapes/Tropics/Hymns tour poster
Pretty obvious opener - who are your main influences, both for style and themes?
How do you approach combining digital type with your illustration work?
My main influences stylistically are people like Kevin Tong, Matthew Lyons, Ken Taylor. Thematically probably large budget Sci-Fi like Roland Emmerich but with a tone more conducive to films directors such as Michael Haneke or Lars Von Trier.
To be honest my Typography is pretty substandard, it;s something I’m slowly chipping away at. What I normally do is either have a layer of Helvetica (because it;s the most neutral/ malleable typeface) and then get it into position and then create a new layer and redraw over the top, making any slight alterations or changes along the way.
Can you talk us through your work pattern, from the start to finish? My work pattern is: Once I have an idea for an illustration I then either find photo’s or take photo’s to composite the image on the page. If I wanted to draw a gigantic snake about to devour a boatload of tourists then I find reference images of all the differing parts to the illustration and use them to draw to. I do this in illustrator and have each composite on a separate layer. Once the line work is done I save and open in photoshop where I add colour, gradients, texture etc. Once I get the image to a place where I am relatively happy with it I flatten the image and then play about with colour and contrast until something in my brain clicks and I think “yeah, that’s what I was looking for” What made you decide to return to University instead of simply going freelance after MMISL? I came to Uni after the band split because I was too long in the tooth to carry on dedicating every waking hour to touring and being broke, so I thought I would get a formal education. Like a lot of people, when the recession hit I found it impossible to get work. I was unemployed for six months, applied for hundreds of jobs and got two interviews both of which I was turned down. The choice was work in McDonalds, claim Dole, or go into education while I was still young enough to not stand out too much. I always had a natural eye for perspective and my mind is pragmatic so I have always found it easy to take what I see in front of me and re-create it. I didn’t have the skills or knowledge to go freelance before coming to University, I didn’t know how to use photoshop until halfway through the first year.
The other thing I do Is put a typeface that’s close to what I have envisaged into illustrator and then try to alter it by moving the vectors, but that tricky so I end up spending hours on it that way. No doubt I’ll get faster at some point. How do you feel about the current trend in ‘loose’ illustration (simple thick black lines, out of proportion characters often accompanied by introspective phrases or thoughts) which seems to be so popular on tumblr and the like? To be honest they mean little to me, the more something becomes a trend the less I feel inspired by it. It’s like playing music in a sense, if you are always playing what other people are playing you will always feel like your work is stale. So never play what you hear, always play what you want to hear, because even if you don’t achieve what you want to achieve it will still be better than sounding like everyone else and you will progress as an artist quicker that way to. What would be your ideal project? My ideal project would be to make a film. I’m a complete cinephile and have recently bought a Canon 7d which can attain beautiful slow motion like the opening scenes in anti-christ and melancholia by Von Trier. I’ve also bought a Super-8 camera so I can attain that real grainy old school memories look. If I had enough time I would work out a way to incorporate my illustration and all these things. But time and Money will not permit at the moment. And super-8 film costs about £60 to develop 3 minutes of film so I won’t be doing that anytime soon!
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F k E R c F O u f Ding LIKE THE LOVE CHIHLODRSES THESE Y B SOUN T R D A R P A A E H D E E B L L U O P T E V R AND E S E D S K N U P N R E H T R NO
hope it doesn’t come across as too much of a big statement or whatever. You’re heading over to Europe in a week or so with Fighting Fiction how’s that looking? Originally we were going to do the whole tour with the Fiction boys but as most conversation over a Carlsberg go the logistics never panned out so now we do about 8 shows on our own and 5 shows with the guys. We’re hitting up Czech Republic, Croatia, Slovenia, Germany and Italy with Fighting Fiction so naturally we’re really excited to hit up this part of the tour. So this is your second tour you’ve booked over seas. How does the DIY scene differ in Europe to the UK?
Hey guys, how’s everything in the Egos At The Door camp? Hey there, everything is perfect I’d say, thanks for asking. We have been on the road 11 or 12 days now, still another 33 to go. Shows have been awesome, people have been kind as fuck and the fun is very much alive. Where did the sample at the beginning of ‘My Car’ come from? It’s an American war veteran named John Michael Turner who was stationed in Iraq. He did a public statement over his resignation and wanted to let the public know his story and what was happening over there which is something we wanted to facilitate. Anyone can see the oil war is fucking moronic and despite the patriotic ramblings of idiots soldiers are pretty evil by design. It’s certainly not the kind of world we want to live in. The sample was a lot clearer than someone mumbling and moaning. The only politics we preach are to just do right
by yourself and those around you. I don’t think we have any direct political agenda in our music, we’ve really discussed it but it’s all a bit naive pushing these things in music. Basically it’s all a little lazy writing songs about what you think and leaving it there and we’re all far gone past the punk as fuck subject material, half these bands don’t even understand the subjects they write about and we wouldn’t claim to have any answers so why bitch about the questions. How did EATD come about? What’s behind the name? Well Graham (drums) and I had been in ‘A WarAgainstSound’ and ‘Ignorance Is This’ from the previous 3 years and when things didn’t materialise or progress with those projects we found ourselves just discussing somewhere new to go and we had known Rayyan (vocals) and Pete (bass) for years and they were both totally up for trying things out. I guess the rest writes itself. The name is just a dumb little ethos based on observations and experiences. I
There is a massive difference but I’ll refuse to do the ‘UK sucks, we don’t get treated like kings or rock stars in England so Europe is better’ thing. There is just a lot more hospitality, but since the opportunities for small bands to tour Europe has grown so has the level of the shows in England. We’ve been fed and beered almost every show this UK tour which has never happened before. Hopefully things are coming full circle. The UK is getting better and better, which is something everyone should be working towards. Any advice for bands who want to book shows themselves but are constantly stopped by overly expensive venues or a lack of All Age spaces? Ouch, see this is a real problem that everyone meets daily. Venues need to realise that promoters do a job FOR the venue and contribute to the venues well being! At the same time, promoters need to get off their asses and go flyering, be proactive. I don’t think there is any advice to tackle the problem but just don’t give up. You can just make an offer to the venue. You might have to pay them once and make sure that you do a good job but after that then you can start to build some trust with them. Egosatthedoor.bandcamp.com
Too emotional for the hardcore kids and too rowdy for the emo crowd, Cavalcades are just one of many great bands currently blurring the lines of both genres. Hey Allan, hows it going? Allan (Vocals): I’m good buddy! Danny our guitar player is here too, so he’s going to help me out. Danny (Guitar): Wagwan. How would you explain your brand of Hardcore/Emo to anyone who hasn’t any knowledge of either scene? A: We are too moany for people who like hardcore and too rowdy for people who like emo I guess. We all listen to a fair bit of hardcore but also lot of Emo and Screamo stuff as well, so Cavacades is very much the bastard child of all of that. D: If I could get away with it we would sound exactly like Pg.99, but Allan isn’t having that. He’s determined to sound
like Modern Life is War so there’s a bit of push and pull there, and we kind of end up somewhere in the middle, but more chilled than either. It’s a weird situation... There seems to have been a resurgence of real emo in the UK after the last few years (Manbearpig, For This World Is Hollow and These Hands Have Touched The Sky , Nai Harvest). Do you think people have finally abandoned the radio friendly rock known as ‘emo’ in the mid two thousands? A: I hope not, I’m waiting for the next taste of chaos featuring: Taking Back Sunday, The Used, The Audition, Aiden and many more to come around. D: It’s always been there really, people just seem to have noticed more
recently. As for radio friendly emo rock, if we’re talking about the likes of Aiden then that can rot at the bottom of the discarded music bin, but if you mean stuff like Jimmy Eat World then I’m in no rush for that to go away. Ravachol, Bonehouse, Sunday League, Roots and Hindsights are all smashing it as far as UK emo goes. Can you tell us about what everyone does outside of cavalcades and how you handle it all? A: I’m at Uni and work in an office job. Time off is pretty easy to come by for me so it’s not actually all that bad for me. Frank is a badass yardie so it’s pretty hard for him to get time off for stuff but we get by. Michael is a baker and I think hating his job so much helps him to be more into playing/not really
care about missing work (he called in sick for half of the last tour). D: We need to stop Calling Frank a “yardie”. He’s a labourer. Also, I’m 100% unemployed at the moment, which is no fun. Find me a job. Where’d the name Cavalcades come from? A: I actually hate it. I hate “S” names in general because they make me feel like people think we sound like Heart in Hand or something before they hear us. Our old bass player Matt came up with it along with some reasoning behind it and it sort of stuck. Our other name choice was “Science and Technology in the Soviet Union” so I guess we lucked out on that one. D: I like it. It annoys me how nobody can spell it though. Calvacades, Cavaclades, Calvaclades...I always thought it was a pretty normal word that people knew. People assume we’re named after a Glassjaw song too, and I’m ok with that.
How’d you get involved with Andrew from party wounds with the Far Away Friends split? A: Before Party Wound was a thing he messaged us asking if we wanted to be on a tape he was releasing (which never came out) and it just kind of went from there. D: We hate that guy. He always tries to put us on his stupid compilations and play shows with his awful band. (I’m joking) Can you give us 5 tour essentials for a smaller band like yourselves? A: Pillows! Make sure you bring a pillow, half of us were pillow-;ess on tour and it sucked. A half decent sat nav, ours sends us all over the fucking place. Fun people, tour wouldn’t be the same without those people. A good attitude, people (especially me) just do things that grate on you sometimes. If they don’t mean it, you’ve just got to let it go! It’s never been
NOTHING WORSE THAN EMPTY EP (Self Released) 1. April 4th,1968 2. Quiet Voices, Loud Places 3. (A Dramatic Procession Of People Or Things) 4. Half A Year Hounds / Cavalcades Split CD (Self Released) 1. Kingbreaker (Hounds) 2. How Much We Need (Hounds) 3. It Took Switches (Cavalcades) 4. Half A Year (Cavalcades)
much of a problem for me (or any of us) but I know some peope who can go completely tits in confined spaces. Also, you need to bring MacGruber on DVD. D: Dry shampoo, money, extra guitar strings/picks/drumsticks/a spare strap, MacGruber and lots of patience. You have to sit in a confined space and smile politely while someone else in your band will be sitting close enough that you’re touching, and they’ll be annoying you to no end (even if they’re not doing anything unreasonable). You just have to put up with it. The absolute most important thing on any tour is to always play in Brighton. Best city, best promoters, best shows. A: Yeah, the PVHC guys in Brighton were the nicest dudes and even got me chocolate milk. Thanks for the interview, we have some new releases planned for this year so save up your pocket money and that. Facebook.com/Cavalcades
FAR AWAY FRIENDS SPLIT (Brain Ache Records / Party Wounds Productions) 1. Tongues (ManBearPig) 2. Ray Brower (ManBearPig) 3. Crossing Days Off My Calender (Nai Harvest) 4. Red Letter Day (Nai Harvest) 5. Coastal Route (Cavalcades) 6. It Took Stitches (Cavalcades) 7. Old Religion (FTWIHATHHTTS)* 8. Untitled #4 (FTWIHATHHTTS) * For This World Is Hollow And These Hands Have Touched The Sky
Hey, how’s everything going in the Gunning For Tamar camp at the moment? Excellent actually, our new EP is out today and we’re heading out on our first tour of the year. We’ve spent the first few months of 2012 locked away preparing for this release, booking shows and doing press so it’s great to finally be getting out to do what we love most. Who influenced the GFT sound? The twinkly guitars make me wonder if any of you are classic emo fans? I think the twinklyness probably comes from a shared love of bands like Minus The Bear, Oceansize and Efterklang. I’m a mega Brand New fan and I guess they could be considered classic emo, but honestly I don’t really associate them so much with that after The Devil and God... and Daisy. We’re all pretty open minded with our tastes.
After releasing their debut EP Deaf Cow Motel through Walnut Tree Records, the
indie rockers
follow up with the Time Trophies Watch via Alcopop.
I love anything with strong melody, hooks and an energy or atmosphere that draws me in and makes me pay attention. We were actually sat listening to Kanye and Jay-Z’s Watch The Throne last night, there are some incredible tracks on that and everyone needs a bit of swagger yo!
You recently moved from Walnut Tree Records to Alcopop! - how’d that come about? When we had the idea for releasing Time Trophies on a watch we knew Jack from Alcopop! would be into it and he has such a strong roster of some of our favourite bands, it seemed crazy not to pursue it. We’re really grateful that Tom from Walnut Tree picked us up when we were completely unknown and helped out so much. The move to Alcopop! felt like a logical progression, but it wouldn’t have been possible without the work Tom put into our first release Deaf Cow Motel and we are really proud of what we achieved with that record. Where do you sit on the argument that anything can be a valid format to release music on now if it includes a download? There’s no doubt that the physical format isn’t what it used to be, but to anyone with an imagination that can only be a good thing. I think you have to be careful not to be too random or wacky, but if the product relates to the release and is something people want to own then there are so many possibilities. Most fans like having merch, but obviously they have to like the music first, if you can combine the two
though it benefits everyone. It feels like we’ve struck a pretty good balance with the watch as it has certainly got peoples attention, we’ve already had a lot of positive feedback and there aren’t many left. Two full summer tours and a stint abroad is pretty impressive for a band who formed at the beginning of 2010. What pieces of advice would give to smaller bands beginning to tour? Just get out and do it. At first it may seem that no one is willing to help you and you will play shit shows but if you get out there and in peoples faces enough things will start to happen. It feels like we have a pretty decent network of venues, promoters and bookers now who we can get shows with across the UK and some of Europe but we only know them now because we went looking for them. We’ve actually had emails from bands asking us to take them on tour with some even offering to pay us to do it but the truth is they’re just trying to find a short cut through the hard work but there’s no secret to it or quick solution. If you love playing shows and you’re willing to risk your health, bank balance and sanity to do it then nothing can stop you. Except maybe your health, bank balance and sanity.
Hey, how’s everything in the JoFo camp?
It’s no secret that PFC loves Johnny Foreigner and with the recent release of their latest album ‘Johnny Foreigner Vs Everything’ we jumped at the chance to chat to frontman Alexei once more about piracy, expectations and suicidal pheasants.
Pretty sweet! The southern leg of tour is finished, we had a lot of fun times for possibly for the first time ever we’ve come back with money to show for it. It’s obviously not the most important thing to us, but a happy surprise for the people we owe money to. Touring after a record comes out gets more tense the older we get. There’s always this gremlin that says people aren’t as interested in new stuff as they are salt and peppa or whatever. We opened the first night with a new song and the whole room started singing along with us, so from that point on we knew everything was going to be fine. We took We Are The Physics out with us too and they were awesome, both to watch and to hang out with. So yeah, relatively content! I’ve heard that you’ve been playing Things We Should Have Left On The Beach on this tour with the amount of material you release, does it ever surprise you that people get excited for older, more obscure material? Nah not at all, we grew up with that kind of indie culture where everyone shouts out names of b sides at shows to prove how devoted they are. I went to one of Seafoods last tours and
got yelled at by David for asking for Porchlight, it was kind of awkward and I don’t think we’d ever have that attitude toward people who’ve paid to come watch us. Plus, we never really record to campaign; if we need a song then we record it and put it out, we don’t relegate the shit stuff to b sides. This is a nicer way of saying we have no quality control. People had been asking us to play that song for so long it became a joke; there was an online petition which was pretty flattering. It’s awkward to play because it’s not really in the right key for our voices and needs 2 guitars, but it kind of became a challenge to see how good we could perform it and we ended up liking it all over again because it sounded so sloppy... After three/four albums and countless Eps, are you happy with where JoFo are? Do you feel that you should be bigger at this point? FUCK NO. We were promised houses and cars and glorious stability. I think we’re a way better band than Yuck or The Vaccines or whoever, but aside from carrying on being so awesome, I don’t know what else we can do because I’m clearly in the minority. Honestly though, it’s hard to look at the holidays and the shows and the friends we’ve made and feel ungrateful, or worse, cheated out of something some industry cunts promised us when we made our first record. We’ve been
professional musicians for less than 5 years and seen so many of our contemporaries die off because of labels and debt, from naive decisions that put their faces in the press whilst shrinking their life span, that we’re glad we chose to jump ship and treat what we do as a kind of mad global cottage industry. By summer we’ll be debt free, unlike pretty much every other working band ever. If that’s the trade off from not chancing it, not buying on to cool tours or bff’ing radio 1 djs on twitter or hanging with the pointy shows or keeping my mouth shut about the NME, then so be it; we’ve a substantial enough profile and a dedicated enough fan base to tour and record forever, until we go shit or mental, all on our own terms. So, maybe we are as big a band as we should be. We’re certainly pretty fucking proud what we’ve done and we don’t feel like we have to bend to anyone’s expectations. But we’ll always want to live the dream, be able to live off what we do. Because we’re bitter idealists we just assume that translates as; we need to write better songs and hope to god the two correlate. Who’s idea was it to bombard the internet with fake copies of ‘Vs’ when it leaked? I guess that was me? At least, me + weed. Tubelord and Dana did similar things but they both stopped as soon as it was online. To get a real practical
effect though, it had to go viral, at least within the immediate sphere of people likely to download it. It worked super well but I don’t know if we’d do it again; I feel like I spent ages defending our right to do something like that and explaining to people not willing to read our massive blog post why we felt we should do it. Didn’t really expect it to gather as much attention as it did. I totally believe that the internet is the greatest thing ever and the more information and communication available to humans the better the world will be. The downside of all music being free is a small price to pay for that. Also, there’s probably 50 or so hardcore Johnny Foreigner fans who would’ve downloaded the first leak they found, and dissected it in dank corners of the internet. Instead, everyone buzzed about it on our facebook which meant we got cool offers from promoters and people who value such public affection. That was all we cared about; channelling the hype as much as we could. By now I’m sure there’s genuine copies floating around, and if people think they deserve it for free then we can just hope they buy a t shirt or play us to a less stingy friend. How did concret1 and concret2 come about? They feel like quite a departure from the normal stuff, both in the instrumentation and Kelly providing sole vocals. Neither of them are Kelly! The first
“The front of the car looked like someone had taken a shotgun to it. We spent an hour at a services picking chunks of exploded bird out of the broken engine”
is a girl called (not that ) Harriet and the second is a few different people all chopped up. Really early on in recording we asked people to send us one minute monologues on the topic “certain songs are cursed”. The idea was to build up a bank of samples we could drop in places on the record, but aside from the swell, there wasn’t anywhere to fit them. So i made the concrets out of what available sample stuff we had, and we put
them in the record as intervals between the three parts. Can you tell us more about the ‘most grandiose/stupid interactive art thing we’ve ever done’ you have planned for those who pre-order the ‘Vs’ LP? No, I’m worried i’ll jinx it. We’d planned to have it mostly ready by now and we’re more like 30% there. We could get it made tomorrow if we wanted, but I don’t think we’ll lose any sales if we take our time setting everything up around it. The Plan will only affect the first 100, but we also want to re-jig the artwork to fill the space.
Where any of the songs Alexi recorded as Yr Friends ever put forward as JoFo tracks? Only from the hheeaarrtt of the last ep; It was in my head for ages as a huge chugging weezer song, only it needed a giant chorus that i could never get right. Slowing it down/miserabling it up kind of took that need away from it. I have like, a million song ideas every day and needed the space in my shit memory so I demoted it. There’s always been a clear distinction when songs appear in my brain on whether it needs a band or not, and 90% of the time it’s yes. This is way more fun than going to rehearsal and be like, I think this song
would be good if you guys do nothing. Also, i get bouts of depression where i just stay in bed and try to ignore the rest of the planet; sitting up and making tiny miserable records on my own is an effective way to exorcise that, and the result means i can worry about bills a little less. 2012 is the year of the disarmingly honest interview answer.
it. We got halfway there and a wild pheasant appears and defeats us. The front of the car looked like someone had taken a shotgun to it. We spent an hour at a services picking chunks of exploded bird out of the broken engine and swearing, then a complete stranger called Callum persuaded his holidaying parents to detour and taxi us
focus on one (arguable) downside and predict gloom, and does a massive disservice to the next generation; the kids on tumblrs and mailing lists and fucking facebook who’re not only funding the bands fairer than labels used to, but fostering communities, making real life friends over shared tastes. THAT’S WHY WE STARTED
What happened at Southsea Fest last September? I remember someone saying something about a car and the motorway but didn’t hear anything after that.
there, and a complete stranger called Mark dropped us back to the services after and Dans dad picked took us home. I think Dan went back the day after and set fire to it or something. Shit like this happens to us ALL THE TIME. We’re pretty unfazable by now when it comes to transport hassle.
FUCKING COLLECTING RECORDS IN THE FIRST PLACE. I think it’s the indie kid version of the american dream; musical compatibility; and whole generations have got jaded and given us this High Fidelity culture; idealist loveable losers, forced to concede to insurmountable odds of finding the cute and kind girl who also loved Obscure Indie Band X. It doesn’t have to be like that anymore. I think this is a fucking amazing time for music and I don’t think enough people write about it like that.
We really wanted to play it but they couldn’t afford much so we did it on the cheap; borrowed amps and bribed our tour manager Dan to drive us down in his little car. He’d arranged to sell it the day after so he was kind of nervy about
I apologise, this question is about the second album. I remember thinking that it was awesome that each song had a link to its own webpage/video hidden in the album booklet. How did that come about? Did it become a bigger project when you rolled out the ‘Vs Everything’ series of videos? We just magpied the idea from Queen. But what was forward thinking in the 90s seems like common sense now. Side rant: I get really annoyed by that little subsect of pop culture commentators who bemoan the Great Digital Age; that songs have been reduced from artefacts to untouchable strings of audio code, maximum value 99p. Via the same machine, they can also be videos now for free and you can share them with everyone, forever, for free. The same machine puts us in touch with people who make comics and frisbees and all kinds of weird and mad junk. That’s pretty awesome. it makes liking bands/music a way more fun interactive community experience than a shoebox full of precious 7”s that you take out mostly to show off to other shoebox owners. I got enough shoeboxes, but it seems so luddite to
Sorry, videos; it seemed like a cool thing to do. We all taught ourselves to use editing programs and thought we could internet-beg people to make the rest. It didn’t really work - I think we didn’t beg enough. Also us (and alex who made the record) were having huge dramas with our old label; we didn’t have the time or energy to do it properly, and we didn’t get the masters till way past the art deadline. We also lost a camera with a ton of footage on it, so it kind of got forgotten about. This time we had way more ideas and footage, so it came together way easier. I don’t know if we’ll end up with a proper video for everything, but I think we’ve used every song from the record in the little promos we’ve been putting up. We also did less begging and got more videos too somehow. There’s more to come too, assuming we don’t lose any cameras. I recently discovered youtube playlists, so I spent a night obsessively compiling and uploading stuff.
CRAZY ARM I’m very suspicious of the Kony 2012 set. I’d rather people focussed on fighting to stop Western military aggression towards Iran and Syria - something that is all too imminent.
www.facebook.com/thecrazyarm
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Hey, how’s everything in the Crazy Arm camp at the moment? All good here, thanks. We’ve had a slow start to the year but our short tour with Apologies I Have None and Great Cynics this month blew the cobwebs away. You released both albums on Xtra Mile - did you flirt with any other labels post-Born To Ruin? Have you found Xtra Mile easy to work with? Yeah, they’re very easy to work with, and have supported us from the start so we didn’t feel the need to look for any other interested labels after the first album came out. Xtra Mile are a small indie team with an ever-increasing roster so there are times when we may feel a little overlooked but I think that’s inevitable for all bands in our position. In general, they always welcome our ideas, and our releases, and they help us out a lot whenever they can in all other aspects of the band, ie tour supports, press, videos, etc. You just have to be careful when some of them get a little drunk. I assume - feel free to correct me if I’m wrong - that Crazy Arm is akin to a full time job for you guys? How did you make the step from playing in a band as a hobby to making it your career? I went self-employed two and a half years ago which enabled me to focus on the music more than anything else. It was the best thing I’ve ever done. It means absolutely no money but it does give me the freedom to go and play anywhere, any time. A couple of the other members went self-employed late last year. The band as a whole isn’t a full-time concern yet but we’re working towards it, and we drop everything when we need to. It’s not as easy for everyone as it has been for me - we all have different financial situations. Were you expecting the response you got to Union City Breath after releasing Born To Ruin? We never knew what to expect - we were too anxious about living up to the legacy of the first album. But I, for one, was surprised by the overwhelmingly positive response and the consistent level of accolades it received. I wasn’t sure that Union City Breath held its own. I’m still not sure! But I’m my own worst critic so I wouldn’t take any notice of what I say, if I were you. You’ve played with Frank Turner and Social Distortion which is quite an achievement! So what do you reckon is the next step with Crazy Arm?
We’ve been lucky up to now, in that most bands who hear us always seem to be impressed and eager for us to play with them. That’s how it went with Frank, Social D and Against Me! We’re eternally grateful to them all for the leg-up, especially as we’ve been fans of these people for years, but we can’t rely on luck forever. The next step is to get the high profile supports but at the same time try to reach a position where we’re headlining bigger shows ourselves. I guess I better get down to writing some better songs. There are some major support tours being talked about but I can’t say anything yet. I don’t want to jinx them. In an earlier interview Darren talked about wanting to visit America and tour it hard like Sharks. Are you any closer to achieving that? I wish. No, we’re still not in a position to do that yet but there are talks. We sound like a big corporation with all these fucking talks. There are a lot of people who would love to see us touring America, some of whom might help us to do so. We need to make sure it’s not a waste of time, so we need US distribution for the records and we need a good support tour. We’ll see. Maybe we should chat to Sharks about it. Invite them to one of our power lunches. Given your history of promoting organisations such as Amnesty International and the inclusion of an impressively long list of activist groups on your Facebook page, what’s your thoughts on the Kony2012 campaign which has sprung up during the last week? It’s too early to posit a vacuum-packed, easily digestible sound-bite but I’m very suspicious of the Kony 2012 set. The involvement of the National Christian Foundation immediately puts me on the back foot and the campaign’s insistence on US intervention in Central Africa doesn’t bode well. I’d rather people focussed on fighting to stop Western military aggression towards Iran and Syria - something that is all too imminent - than deciding whether the real, or exaggerated, tragedy of child soldiers in Uganda means that we should send the drones in and probably end up killing the lot of them. If you could release a split with another UK band on the scene, who’d you pick and why? Apologies I Have None or Pettybone. The former because they’re wonderful boys, great friends and kindred spirits; the latter because they’re politically volatile and make a fantastic, unbridled punk rock racket. I’d love to do a split with The Unthanks but they’re way out of our league.
How’s things in the Smile Longboards camp? Getting busier weekly! It’s amazing how quickly word spreads in the community
have expanded somewhat. I mostly try to stock awesome boards that nobody else stocks. Currently LBL, Holesom, Jati, Drang, Soda Factory, Buddywood, Green Banana.
What got you interested in skating longboards?
Do you have any favourite routes/ spots to skate around Brighton?
I skated a little bit in the 70’s, and surfed longboards almost daily while living in Australia for many years. When I returned to the UK I needed an alternative, so after a little searching I bought a used LBL Old School Dancer.
I’m more of a Dancer and distance pusher rather than a downhill guy. I’m mostly found on the seafront with my OSD or in the local park.
How’d you get into selling longboards? Was it a little idea that just grew or did you have a plan for this all along? After purchasing the first OSD my Brother and friends wanted one also. There was no UK dealer and the shipping costs were a little off-putting. It didn’t seem right that these incredible boards weren’t readily available in the UK. I contacted Larry, the first order was made, the rest is history! It was only ever meant to be LBL but things
Has running Smile Longboards forced you to expand your knowledge on the sport? Definitely. I’m learning more and more daily and there’s plenty more to go. I’ll always try to hunt out information that a customer might want, or redirect them to someone who could help. Have you ever been surfing in Morocco before? What makes it such a great place for surfing? I haven’t, but it consistently gets good reviews. I’m praying for surf!
Do you have any favourite boards you’ve sold whilst running Smile? LBL Old School Dancer 100%. Have you seen a rise in interest in Longboarding lately? There’s definitely been a rise in interest lately. From what I’ve seen it’s grown hugely in the last few years. I’m also seeing a wide spectrum of riders young, old, male, female. There’s not limit really. I regularly meet people when out skating who are always interested in the board or the dance moves they are seeing. I’ve found that (at least in my clique) that a lot of people have their favourite albums to sound track their seasons to. What three releases make up the perfect soundt rack for you? I rarely listen to music when skating, but in the past it’s been Toro Y Moi and the sound track to Morning of the Earth. Smilelongboards.co.uk
Just before issue 4 of PFC went to print Akmal Hakim, owner of Learn To Trust Records, got in touch about running a piece on the label. Unfortunately the interview didn’t get completed in time so we ran an ‘introducing’ feature instead. It would be a same for it to not be read so here it is, Learn To Trust Part 2! Can you tell us about Learn To Trust? Learn To Trust Records is a D.I.Y Harcore/Punk label based in Malaysia dedicated to the punk movement, DIY ethics and living without borders. We like to help new bands release their demo and see what they bring to the scene. First and foremost, Learn To Trust Records is from my heart. From the beginning I’ve been supporting any new Youth Crew bands that form over here. I am currently working on Learn To Trust Booking Agency to make touring easier for those bands.
Tell us about the scene in Malaysia - is it a Pop Punk/Hardcore/Indie heavy scene? What are the local shows like? As far as I am concerned the scene is quite diverse. D-beat to crusty punk, metal to hardcore, rock to jazz. Almost every week we’ve got a show going on. However, Malaysia has become a pit-stop for international bands when touring and that’s great! Comeback Kid, Bane, Bold, AYS, Pisschrist, Ghostlimb, The Geeks, FC FIVE,Backtrack, Parkway Drive, The Casualties and more have all stopped here recently. How did you get into Hardcore and DIY ethics? Back to 2003, when I was 15, I read a local zine that I borrowed from my friend. I learned something about DIY Hardcore/Punk that day. For me, DIY taught me to learn to trust myself and
that I can do something without any help. Hardcore/Punk is a radical movement where we do everything possible to help our scene without capitalistic interests. As you’ve said, pressing vinyl is already expensive(especially when you’ve got to import from America). Has the lack of convenience made bands with a stronger DIY ethic in Malaysia? Yes, but as a rule bands don’t tend to release as much as bands do in other countries. It’s difficult for them so we help them produce the EPs and get them onto the shelves. We tend to pick bands with good lyrics and good attitudes to work with. Too many bands are very DIY when it comes to playing shows but fail to apply it to actually releasing music. Personally, I would like to see a new band release their own demo even if it’s just a cd-r. I appreciate the effort when I see the band do that.
WWW.LEARNTOTRUSTHC.BIGCARTEL.COM
D N A T R O SH t E E W S y o j n e time to sized e t i b e m so s w e i v inter
Hey, how’s all in the Party Wound Productions camp?
What has been the highlight for so far for you?
All in all it’s going pretty well, Been pretty busy lately with the Digital compilation with missthestars.com; Chapels screen print/digital release; Summo and Manbearpig tape release and the possible Tape Club I might be starting. My only real problem at the moment is that I’m so poor, hopefully not for much longer though, once i find a new job and and live again.
Probably all of the bands and new music I’ve discovered, and the new friends and acquaintances I’ve made whilst doing this. The response I’ve had is unbelievable and a I’ve received a lot interest than I expected, which has been great. I wouldn’t say there’s many low points so far bar a few situations/ people but that’s a different story.
So why did you decide to start PWP? I wanted to start a label for a while and at the time I was a huge fan of Holy Roar (still am) and Alex who runs as he does an outstanding job. I wanted to be more involved with bands and the “scene” and see what I could do to help bands that I love, so I stole the name from a Rolo Tomassi song and got involved, mostly with Manbearpig as my main goal is just to release them, and get them on as many things as possible till everyone knows them.
If a band wants to be picked up by PWP, what qualities should they have? Being friendly is a big help in my opinion as we are a community of sorts and it helps us all if you’re outgoing, and of course it helps to have a style of music that suits the label. I don’t see myself releasing generic hardcore bands any time soon - sorry guys. Other than that, just generally having good ethics around your band and having fun. A bit of talent and an ability to write decent lyrics goes along way too. Partywound.bigcartel.com
Who currently makes up DIK? DIK has nine members. Rob, Dan, John, Mark, Travis, Adam, David, Rebecca, and Kenny. How would you describe your take on ska? I would describe our sound as a unique take on today’s ska. We try to keep the essence of ska present in our music but give the listener something they have never heard before. We want our music to be genuine and original but still be able to connect with our audience. In the end we just want you to move around and have a damn good time. What’s behind the name ‘Do It Kappa’?
What has been the highlight so far for you photography wise?
How did you first get into photography and when did you start taking it seriously?
Short And Sweet is a new feature where we pick a handful of bands and individuals and ask them three or four questions to see what makes them tick. You’ve read the long interviews so think of these as the cheese and biscuits to your main meal.
We get that a lot, so I’m glad to set the record straight. Back in 2008 we all watched this shit Danny Boyle movie called “Sunshine.” During the film someone yells out, “Do it Capa.” This scene was the cheesiest thing we had ever witnessed. It caused us all to duck our heads in disbelief. So naturally we named our band after it. The problem is now we constantly get affiliated with fraternities. So if you are wondering, we have nothing to do with any frats. What drives your love of ska? I wouldn’t say that anything in particular drives my love for ska. Ska drives me! Ska is in my veins. I grew up on the Bosstones, Goldfinger, and Reel Big Fish. My most impressionable years were the 90’s. I don’t want to undermine our music by saying that’s when ska was at its best, but damn ska was good then. If you dig our tunes then please stay tuned as we are currently working on our debut album which should be out later this year www.Reverbnation.com/doitkappa
Both my parents work in the advertising industry so my initial interest in graphics comes from then. Art in secondary school is probably what got me into photography specifically, and it certainly accounts for a lot of my current interests. In terms of band photography, my mate had bought a DSLR and had taken a photos at some gigs my mates’ band had played at. I felt held back by my little compact so I made the upgrade. Like most people do when they get their first SLR I wanted to try every type of photography so I took it along to some shows and took photos. The idea of going to a gig and not taking my camera seems completely alien to me now.
Heading out on tour with No Second Chance back in December has to got to have been one of the best parts so far! I’m a huge fan of music, but don’t have enough commitment to learn an instrument on my own accord, so I guess going on tour as a photographer is the closest I can get to being in a band without actually being in one. Other than that, seeing my photos on tshirts and in print is pretty cool - Bridge Nine using one of my Dead Swans photos was pretty cool. Getting to take photos of bands I love has to be one of the highlights too! How’d you describe your photography outside of bands and live music? It’s probably best described as ‘urban.’ I love cities and all the shapes and textures within them. Facebook.com/Joshrockphotography What has been the highlight so far for you?
Hey, how’s all in the L’Amour camp? Everything’s good right now, a balanced mixture of quiet and busy, kind of a resting period for the label after nearly a year of solid work. So why did you decide to start L’Amour? I just felt that after years of ‘slobbing’ around the ‘scene’, I wanted to take a more active role. I’ll be the first to admit that i’ve never really done anything for the ‘scene’ as a whole. I play bass really badly and my voice cuts out after one show so continuing in bands was never an option. I took the risk with a label with zero experience of business etc, and I guess it paid off.
We’ve been charity orientated from the start, so all our charity projects are highlights. I’ve always done charity work but being able to do it with my own time/resources was a big learning curve. We worked on the first ‘love collection’ for about a six weeks straight, and it sold out in just over a day. That’s our main highlight. If a band wants to be picked up by L’Amour, what qualities should they have? I’m not even sure myself really. I just trawl through blogs until I find a band that really interest me. I need to be blown away to put a bunch of my money into it. It’s just that we get so few submissions that I think people get the idea we just don’t accept them. We do though, CityCop asked us for their release and they’re one of my favourite bands now. Take the risk! Facebook.com/LAmourRecords
wouldn’t consider ourselves big enough names to form a supergroup or anything, but there’s definitely a cool mix of backgrounds and genres meeting in this band. It helps us massively because everyone has totally different things they can bring to the table, whether that’s sharing a stage with the Foo Fighters, touring or working at a record label.
JOY RADIO Hey, how’s all in the Joy Radio camp? All is very peachy thanks! We’ve just made Jiwoon part of the band as another guitarist so we’re really excited about him joining us. How’d you describe your sound? We play heavy grunge with a healthy punk rock influence and a fair amount of psychedelic and 60‘s tomfoolery thrown into the mix as well. Thats about as simple a description as I can really muster without naming our influences. What’ve you been up to since the demo came out? Quite a great deal! When the demo came out there wasn’t really a full band in the picture - it was just me playing the guitar, making music on my laptop and singing songs over it as something to do over summer. When I moved to London I met Johnny and Paddy and they ended up becoming part of the band. We’ve been finding our feet as a band and began playing to rooms of people which is quite exciting. Jiwoon came to our first show and within two weeks we jammed with him and now he’s bringing a new sound into the current mash up. We’re going to record the full band in April to try and capture the energy that we create and put out an EP of some sort too.
Hey, how’s all in the D.E.A.D camp? Things are awesome right now! We’re opening the main stage at Takedown 2012 this Sunday so there’s loads of excitement and preparation going on for that. We’re coming out swinging for sure. We’re also securing dates all around the south for April time which is pretty sweet for such a young band. How’d you describe your sound? That’s always a difficult one, we love fast songs and chunky riffs like any rock band should but we’ve also got some poppier moments with crazy 3 way vocal harmonies. We try really hard to write things that we find interesting, which can lead to some pretty “different” moments in my own opinion. It sounds totally cliché but the best way to find out is to give us a listen!
Who comes from where? Geographically speaking that ones pretty easy to answer. The 4 other dudes are all IOW natives and I myself (Jake) am a Southampton lad. I can’t help but feel like the outcast sometimes. In terms of musical backgrounds I used to drum for a metalcore band but moved onto guitar for this project. Our bassist Sam came from an IOW indie band and used to DJ a lot. Our drummer Scott and other guitarist Sam shared a poppunk band until recently, and finally our singer Alex used to perform on his own. Why’d you decide on D.E.A.D?:
So D.E.A.D could be considered a super group of smaller south coast/ IOW bands?
It actually stands for something, but we’re being secretive and letting people figure that one out for themselves for now. Its a pretty bold name in itself, almost like a one word statement. We like it because it means we can act, dress and play as boldly as we want cause nothing’ll top that name!
That’s one way to put it I guess. We
Stayclassystaydead.tumblr.com
What other projects are you all involved in? Johnny is in a folk punk band called Will Tun And The Wasters, they’re putting out an EP called Time Is A Bastard which sounds great, they’re also playing extensively all over the country and generally keeping busy too. I’m still part of the dormant band Radiating Eyes. We put out a few EP’s and an album during the four years we were active which is on spotify. I’m still quite plesed about that! Facebook.com/Joyradioband
A Neil Thomason Creation
“Every Day I’m Struggling” or Why I Decided To Complicate My Life By Starting A Record Label Hi, there – let me introduce myself – My name is Steven, I am (mostly) a freelance graphic designer and I run a small record label based in Glasgow called Struggletown Records. We release pop punk, hardcore, indie & post hardcore music for the most part – but almost anything is within our scope of interest. It all started with a vague notion, a concept received in a hazy hung over text message that simply read 'Ugghh... Struggletown'. Instantly I became obsessed with this notion, a place where one is said to reside when struggling, a universal place, that we could all relate to. I had toyed with the idea of starting a label before, but I had no idea what to do and no launching point, nothing struck me as important enough or urgent enough, so the concept was put on the back burner for around a year. In my graphic design capacity I had been working with a pop punk band that my friends were in called Wolves At Heart, I thought that they had a great deal of potential and I was enjoying helping them find their identity and subtly guiding them, with ideas that I thought could work. They asked me to be their manager, but I humbly declined as it's a role I would never see fit to occupy. In February of last year (2011) they spent a great deal of money, time & effort on recording an EP called Write It Down, and it was when I heard this that I knew I had to get involved in some way. The energy and passion in the songs, the quality of the recording and the thoughtful intensity of the lyrics inspired me to believe we had a great product, that just needed a little push into the public eye. Struggletown Records was born, with nothing but a plan to release this one EP and see how it went Excitement built
around producing the artwork, sourcing a pressing plan for the CDs – deciding how many copies to print etc, and I was instantly hooked, it was almost too easy. All it took was a little cash and a focus on the goal. The band had done the hard part, all we had to do was tell people about it. From that point on, we were in a great position to talk to other great bands about working with them, securing some incredible releases, and distribution offers such as the Speak Up Demo Tape and Kite Party – Baseball Season. The company grew with additional members – Nick Ramsay, Dean Louden & Keir O'Donnell as well as a plethora of helpful people who are not directly involved. As a collector of physical format music, such as records, tapes and CDs (to an extent) I feel like I have a good idea what the consumer is after because, after all, I am the guy who would buy these things so market research is easy for me. In one year we have released a great deal of fantastic music in both digital and physical formats. We have a bunch of fantastic 7”s coming out from bands across the pond in Canada, down south in England and all over the world. We produce mini zines, for the shows we put on to help breed an alternative form of press, much like this one, and finding out so many other people do the same and appreciate these formats has been amazing. Please start labels yourselves – all it takes is time, and a little money. Start bands, print zines, book shows, go to shows and enjoy this scene we have for all it's flaws, faults and shortcomings – it's pretty cool. Steven Hill Struggletown.Limitedpressing.com
Wax On / Wax Off
With Record Store Day 2012 just around the corner Hannah Sebestjanowicz catches up with Jeremy from Touche Amore and Andy from The Saddest Landscape to try and find out what exactly drives us to continue collecting vinyl. Record Store Day is just around the corner and more and more people starting to buy vinyl but why do we do it? What makes us spend our hard earned cash flicking through the crates at the local record store, building up our record collections and searching for those elusive rare pressings? And why vinyl? I’ve always bought music and my cd collection is huge but it’s only over the last couple of years that I started record collecting. I listen to music a lot but I found myself in constant shuffle mode, rarely listening to albums from start to finish and I felt like I was losing touch with what it was all about. I guess that’s where vinyl steps in. Musicians and bands put so much effort into making albums that it seems only fair that we, as listeners, take to the time to fully appreciate the effort that went into creating the full body of work. Unless you’re listening to your records on some crappy suitcase player vinyl just sounds so much better than any mp3 file could ever sound. The process of selecting what you want to listen becomes so much more deliberate, it
doesn’t just become background music as you actually find yourself devouring the liner notes and really paying attention to the music. You won’t remember the first mp3 you bought/ downloaded but you will remember how you acquired your first record, whether it was handed down to you by family members, picked up at a show or you found it digging through the crates at your favourite record store. The majority of my disposable income goes on music be it tickets to shows, merch or records. Buying records has become somewhat of an addiction, whether its getting recommendations from the owner of my local record store (Ignite Records in Birmingham) or trawling the websites of various independent labels / distros and buying records from them. For Jeremy Bolm, lead singer of Touché Amoré. and Andy Maddox, vocalist of The Saddest Landscape, collecting records is a big part of their lives and something they are both extremely passionate about. They both kindly answered some questions about their collecting habits.
ANDY MADDOX (The Saddest Landscape)
What’s the first record you bought? Cinderella “Somebody Save Me” 7”, and I still love it with zero irony. Favourite places to buy records? Physical Stores include Redscroll, Newbury Comics, Double Decker, Adagio, Amoeba, Waterloo, Generation, Armageddon..... Any rare records you’re hunting for? Unwound “Leaves Turn Inside You”. The Dead Weather “Triple Decker”. Sleater Kinney “The Woods”. Yeah Yeah Yeah’s “Fever To Tell” euro press.
What’s your favourite record and why?
What’s the importance of Record Store Day for you?
This is always tough, for music it is some battle royale /steel cage / octagon death match between: Fugazi - In On The Kill Taker, Bright Eyes - Fevers And Mirrors, Neutral Milk Hotel -In The Aeroplane Over The Sea, and of course Guns n Roses - Appetite For Destruction is always creeping near the top as well. They are all flawless records that I never grow tired of. In terms of packaging, there are a ton also but off the top of my head, I really like that 7 panel gatefold of the first press of Murder By Death - In Bocca..., or the extensiveness of the deluxe edition of Pearl Jam’s VS/ Vitalogy, the first Godspeed You Black Emperor LP with the hand made covers and the envelope with the flattened penny was pretty cool, I also really like the simplicity of Sigur Ros ( ) LP, or the first 2 Joy Division LPs where there is no clutter just stark imagery. A lot of the stuff Third Man does (the Dead Weather LP with music actually on the paper centre label, or the 3” records that you need a special player for), The Orchid/Jeromes dream skull shaped split where one part plays forward and one backward, Huey Lewis “Hip to be Square” on square vinyl, the list can go on and on......
It is like christmas and my birthday all rolled up into one, and any day that can make me that happy is important to me, but that is the selfish answer, in a larger sense it is important because ask anyone who has been buying records for longer than say 10 years, or especially pre file sharing, about the number of actual record stores there were then vs. now? The difference is frightening, the stores that are left do need our support, and if having this one day a year (or 2 if you count record store day jr in Nov.) will help ensure their longevity than bring it on, because it is not just the stores that go away it is that sense of community that vanishes as well, that meeting place where you can go and interact with the employees and like minded people and just dork out on records, I have found some of my favourite records that way that I would have surely missed otherwise.
Why did you start buying vinyl? I always loved music and it is the most satisfying way to listen to it.
TSL have a huge discography with numerous pressing of each release and is collector’s nightmare/dream, is this something you always planned on doing? It is something we had always hoped to do, but it isn’t always easy, let’s just say I have no shortage of ideas for records and elaborate packaging that I would like to do, it is simply a matter of finding the resources to make them happen.
demand I stop by here. It’s located in the back of a comic shop. It’s a small room but full of everything I want to search through and for very reasonable prices.
D) Academy Record Annex - Brooklyn,
My friend Daniel (current drummer of HORSE the band) is an old friend of mine. At one point he had the most impressive collection I’ve ever seen. I’m talking every version of every screamo/powerviolence/thrash/ hardcore band. He introduced me to all of that. He made me CDs back in 2000 of everything from Encyclopaedia of American Traitors to Majority Rule to Yage. He began to part with records a couple years back, but I loved going to his house to just thumb through everything he had. I was fascinated by the art involved with that entire culture
NY - This store fucking rules. Tons of 7” boxes to go through. Rows of LPs as well. Wide selection of punk and indie amongst other genres.
and scene that came along with DIY packaging for the early screamo/emo bands. I officially started my collection in early 2001 I’d say.
E) Hits and Misses - Toronto, Canada Owned by the guy who started Singles Going Steady in Seattle, WA (of the movie EDGE OF QUARREL fame). Just a great punk record store. Great stock and reasonable prices.
Any records you’re hunting for?
C) Bis Aufs Messer - Berlin, Germany This store is owned by Robert from the band ZANN. It’s got a wide selection of punk/hardcore/screamo/thrash/metal/ indie/experiment music. They also have a great selection of cassette tapes and books. Robert is just about the coolest dude in Europe as well. If you travel to Berlin, this place is a must!
JEREMY BOLM (Touché Amoré) What’s the first record you bought? The band FAR has been an all time favourite since the mid to late 90’s. I have a habit of needing to collect any and all things of bands that I admire. So when I was 14 or so I delved deep into the bands history and found out that Shaun Lopez (their guitar player, now plays in the band +++Crosses) sang in a straight edge hardcore band called INNER STRENGTH. The record is titled “Time For Reality”. The only thing they released was a 7”. I tracked it down. Funny side note is that the INNER STRENGTH 7” is Victory Records very first release VR001. Followed by a FAR/ Incubus split 7”s. Favourite places to buy records? I have multiple favourite record stores across the world now. I’ll name five to spread it apart. A) Amoeba Music - Los Angeles, CA. It’s the biggest record store in Southern California, where I reside. I go there multiple times a week to clear my head by digging and also to see some friends who work there. It’s the sole reason I have the collection I have. The gems that have come out of that place for little to no money are uncountable. Forever emotionally in debt to that store. B) Celebrated Summer - Baltimore, MD - Whenever we play Baltimore, I
Why did you start buying vinyl?
Favourite record and why? I’m torn between two. The first would be the SAETIA - Eronel 7”. I have the Coffin Kids Club press, which is out of 25. I found this record in New Jersey when I attended Hellfest 2004 and right when doors open I walked up to a table where a young man was selling his private collection. I got this for $30. I was walking on clouds. My second would be Converge - Axe To Fall (Clear with Shards). It’s limited to 100 and it was gifted to me by the Deathwish Inc office back in 2010 when I spent a month living in Beverly, MA. I was living on our booking agent/ close friend’s couch. Their office shares space with Deathwish Inc and Six Feet Under. I hung around there every day and they treated me like one of their own before we had even committed to being on their label. So when they gave this to me out of the kindness of their heart it gave me a feeling of acceptance. Plus, holy shit, that’s such a cool fucking record.
Everyone has gems they’ll always be hunting for. Off the top of my head: HUM - You’d Prefer An Astronaut LP and Counting Crows - August and Everything After LP. The importance of record store day for you? Record Store Day to be honest isn’t something that makes me pants tighter. What I do enjoy about it is that it gives record stores that may not get much business the spotlight to bring in more customers later on. But as for making it a treasure hunt for eBay dick heads, that’s the downfall. Every day should be “Record Store Day” technically, if you like music that is. If you’ve been thinking about starting your own collection then what are you waiting for? There’s no better time then now and there are still independent record stores hanging on in your town so get out there and support them. If there’s one thing I want to end on then it’s this quote from Rich Perri, owner of Ignite Records in Birmingham “Buy from your local Indie store, the big chains are soulless and Suck the life out of the towns hard working indies Up the punks!”
I guess I should start by introducing myself, but I should probably prevent this from reading like the life story of someone you probably don’t know personally, and you don’t want to read a massive advert or someone just bigging up their friends. I’ll definitely do some of that though. I put on “shows” in London under the name Feliciano and have done so for a few years, I like bands that make interesting and intelligent music and do what they do for the right reasons, doing it for the sake of it is pretty boring. Although being in it for the girls is probably fine. The Shape Of Punk To Come is my favourite album ever, but you know, fuck Refused. I don’t want to see Refused live and I don’t want anyone else to either. I came across that album when I was about fourteen, that was nine years ago so a few years after its release and the bands breakup. I was getting into bands like Glassjaw, Every Time I Die and Aconite Thrill (get on Youtube for that one), but Refused were like not like the other bands. It was just this band that existed in the past, released this perfect album, broke up, and I would never see them live. That was just the way it was, and how it would remain. I told some friends at school about this album and a few of them understood what was cool about it. Over the
years, it was something I would often go back to, and always feel the same about. As I got older and started going to more “shows”, I appreciated it more and built up this ongoing thing in my mind of what was an almost an “idea” of a band, something which could never exist again in this manner. But now it does exist. And Refused are playing Sonisphere and whatever other festivals in the world pay them enough. And they will probably play the fucking HMV Forum or some other no-fun venue sponsorship and everyone that goes will annoy me because they don’t appreciate it properly. So I will stay at home and whine about it on Twitter instead. As a rule, I don’t have a problem with bands reforming. The At The Drive-In thing which happened at the same time didn’t bug me so much, and even if I held Relationship of Command in as high a regard as TSOPTC, the whole thing would still be much less alarming. Maybe it’s because it’s so easy to find video clips of ATD-I on Jools Holland causing chaos whereas when people think of Refused, they tend to think of the time they spent playing a video game. I don’t know. I mean, the message I got from ATD-I was, “we don’t really think too hard, we just spazz out and shit happens, maybe one day we’ll reform, maybe not”, Refused were just, “we thought this out properly, Refused Are Fucking Dead”.That last Get Up Kids album was dog shit though. Check Facebook.com/felicianopresents for details on upcoming shows including Burn The Fleet, Apollo’s Arrows and Everyone Everywhere!
Split up. Yep, that’s right, split up. Not immediately, mind. You should put a lot of hard work in first, make some sweet t-shirt designs, release a couple of solid EP’s and maybe even a full length. Tour. Tour until the fucking wheels fall off your shitty little van and you’ve burned every town by passing through and playing the same club every month to the same faces. Then split up. I’m not belittling you, or pissing on your work and what you’re trying to achieve or even saying hard work won’t pay off, but splitting up it seems is the best thing that can happen to many a hardcore band. And the reason for this is simple you’re basically giving everyone else a chance to catch up. You see, that’s the problem with the underground - hardly anyone cares or notices anymore. You may hear stories of tape trading, word of mouth and fine zine’s like this spreading the word from back in the day, a real underground movement, but it ain’t like that anymore - chances are you’re going to drown in a cesspit of digital distribution and MySpace pages (yes people still use those) and only a handful of committed fans will care. They’re the ones who will keep your name alive and pimp your band at every opportunity and buy every merch design you put out. You may even inspire someone
to start their own band, and then the ball is rolling... You don’t have to take this advice, it’s just a casual observation from a cynical guy who has been around the block a few times now. For example, let’s look at Casey Jones - a straight edge band from Florida. Just over a year ago the band announced they were calling it a day after they’d toured their latest release ‘I Hope We’re Not The Last’ around the globe. Fair play to the guys, it was never a major focus for any of them in the band and was always stated as just being a bit of fun. Here’s Josh James (vocals) laying it down in his own words: “When we started this band, we didn’t expect to release records, much less to gain fans across the world. We certainly didn’t expect so many people to be moved by our message. Because this band has never been first priority to its members, it has always equated to pure expression and pure fun. All things must come to an end, and we believe 2011 will be a great year to spend on tour and saying goodbye. This is going to be fun.” So far so good. But based off this announcement the band seemed to develop a lot of hype. They seemed to go from a band that few in the straight edge community (and fewer in hardcore) talked about to a band that was on a lot of people’s
Josh Rock Photography lips with a lot of hype. Seemingly down to the fact that they’d pre-emptively stated this was it (and also the fact that ‘I Hope We’re Not The Last’ was a good album, I don’t want to understate that) they suddenly had everyone’s attention and word of mouth spread. More tour dates became available, support slots were offered and a short documentary on the band also announced. Their last show was on the 4th of February this year and no doubt they ended on the highest high they could. A lot of this was down to them saying you weren’t going to get chance to see them again. If you do get chance to see them again in say five, ten years time, you can be sure the crowd will be twice as big again. Another example to throw out there is Have Heart - and no, I’m not picking on straight edge bands! Now, Have Heart had three things going for them which boosts their reach and popularity outside of your bog-standard hardcore band - they’re part of the Boston scene, they’re a straight edge band, they’re Bridge Nine alumnus, all of which have very dedicated fan bases if you crack them which Have Heart did and then some with such awesome releases as ‘The Things We Carry’ and ‘You Can’t Go Home Again’. They also used the pre-emptive breaking up announcement, announcing in May 09 that their last show would be in October. 2000 people attended it, sending them off with a bang, but since then their reputation has grown astronomically and the band have
become almost Black Flag-esque in the amounts of merch they shift, partly down to a devoted fan base that deeply misses them and partly down to the fact they’ve now become one of the first stop offs for people who claim straight edge. So what is the reason behind this post-split-up popularity? Part of it is down to no one wanting to miss out, so by announcing you’re splitting up you give people chance to get their shit together and draw in the more reserved and curious fans on the outside. Past that point, as I said at the beginning, you’re giving everyone a chance to catch-up - your bands name will pass on into the echelons and if you’re lucky you’ll have given some creative spark to a kid in the audience to go and create something just as good or better than your band. Sooner or later they will start to get a lot of exposure and name check you as a huge influence and when they do there will be a myth surrounding your band. People always want things in common with their heroes, so that will then nudge their fanbase into checking you out and becoming fans too. What better way to declare your legitimate undying love for a band than by having a different t-shirt of theirs for each day of the week and their entire discography on your iPod, thereby funding their retirement/other endeavours. It’s easy work to sit back and let the royalties roll in rather than pound the road and you can be assured that all that time hand to mouthing it in a shitty van was ultimately worth it. Neil Thomason
Twenty six years ago DC Comics opened the door to a new age of comic book superheroes - an age where heroes could kill, suffer depression and ultimately die. Now, almost three decades later, dc return to the world of watchmen with the prequel series ‘Before Watchmen’. but should they? swipe stuff’s neil thomason explores both sides of the argument.
So it looks like they’re going through with it.
Perhaps to quell the public outcry, DC have drafted in some
After years of rumours, leaks and debates online as to whether any new material would be made from Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons critically acclaimed 1986 comic series ‘Watchmen’, DC Entertainment sent out a press release last month announcing a wide range of prequel comics set within the world of the original. Branded as ‘Before Watchmen’, the series will delve into the lives of the six main cast members of the original series – as well as the Minutemen team whose exploits were told in flashback – and will see a new issue published each week over 35 weeks starting this summer. DC also plans to mark the release of the titles with a one-shot epilogue capping the entire event.
of the premier writers and artists in the industry to try and make this work. ‘Before Watchmen’ will be crafted by the writers Brian Azzarello (writing the Rorschach and Comedian character for four issues each), Darwyn Cooke (writing and illustrating the Minutemen for six issues, and writing Silk Spectre for four), J. Michael Straczynski (writing Dr Manhattan and Night Owl for four issues each) and original ‘Watchmen’ series editor Len Wein will write the Ozymandias character for six issues. Aside from this core miniseries, Wein will also create an ongoing back-up serial titled ‘The Curse of the Crimson Corsair’ to run throughout the entire project ala the much lauded ‘Tales of the Black Freighter’ serial that was intertwined with the original series.
A Watchmen follow-up of some sorts has been rumoured since the release of Zack Snyder’s 2009 blockbuster film adaptation, and most recently there were rumblings in the summer of 2010 when Moore publicly stated that DC had attempted to discuss a deal on the project with him. In the two years since, plenty of rumours and leaks have hit the net.
Though Alan Moore has long sworn off any association with DC Comics or ‘Watchmen’, Gibbons did give his blessing to the project as part of DC’s press release saying, “I appreciate DC’s reasons for this initiative and the wish of the artists and writers involved to pay tribute to our work. May these new additions have the success they desire.”
While I’m impressed with the creative line-up DC has assembled for the project – and I have no doubts they will pay tribute to the original while making this work and add some of their own spin to it – something seems kind of seedy about the whole thing and I can’t put my finger on it. Maybe it’s because it is further proof of the comic industry’s obvious compulsion of trying to turn yesterday into a profit instead of building the foundations for tomorrow. I don’t know. While I think Watchmen is a masterpiece in terms of narrative structure and comic story-craft, I don’t look on it as flawless or untouchable (there are some things I thought the movie did better than the comic, for example using Dr Manhattan as the scapegoat to create world peace as opposed to the out of place ‘alien invasion’ Ozymandias crafted) and I guess doing a prequel as opposed to a sequel is more respectful to the creation as it does nothing to the status quo of the work. Honestly, the thing that irked me the most from the announcement was the fact Len Wein is writing a mirror-serial of the ‘Tales of the Black Freighter’ story within a story motif – it just seems so… uncreative and downright plagiaristic in an attempt to ape what was so creative and successful from the minds of Moore and Gibbons originally. Of course, since the announcement the outcry from fans has ebbed and flowed and a line has definitely been drawn in what seems like a 50/50 split of people who are into it and people who hate the idea and are jumping to the defence of Alan Moore and his rights as a creator of the work. Angry comic nerds were quick to attack J. Michael Straczynski for
his involvement, asking how he would feel if Warner Bros decided to take Babylon 5 (his epic TV series) and redo it in some form without his input. In a reply on his Facebook fan page*, he laid his thoughts out in quite a matter of fact manner stating that: Warner Bros own Babylon 5 as they own Watchmen. Ergo he doesn’t own the creation, nor does Alan Moore own Watchmen (itself variation on characters from Charleton Comics). DC have repeatedly offered Alan Moore the chance to be involved in anything and everything Watchmen in a number of ways over the past 25 years and he has declined at every opportunity (for a multitude of reasons involving creator rights, ownership of work and shitty adaptations of his work), therefore he has zero right to complain Alan Moore writes and reinterprets several literary characters in his most recent works such as League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and Lost Girls and there are just as many people who hold characters such as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde or Wendy from Peter Pan in as high regard as people do Rorschach or Silk Spectre. Those fans might think it untoward that Alan Moore had Mr. Hyde sodomize the Invisible Man TO DEATH after the latter rapes Mina Harker. Do you think Robert Louis Stevenson, H.G. Wells or Bram Stoker would have been happy with that story?
All are very salient points and FWIW I completely agree. It’s no secret that Alan Moore is a curmudgeon with an intense distaste for all things comics and in a recent interview with Seraphemera.com** laid out in detail his problems with the entire ‘Before Watchmen’ concept and even laid the gauntlet down to his fans: “As for the readers, I have to say that if you are a reader that just wanted your favourite characters on tap forever, and never cared about the creators, then actually you’re probably not the kind of reader that I was looking for. I have a huge respect for my audience. On the occasions when I meet them, they seem, I like to think, to be intelligent and
scrupulous people. If people do want to go out and buy these Watchmen prequels, they would be doing me an enormous favour if they would just stop buying my other books.” Simple as. He also discusses the accusation of him mining public domain characters for use in LOEG, and how it is different to what is happening with ‘Before The Watchmen’: “In The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, I am not adapting characters. I am flat out stealing them in what I think is an honourable way... What we were doing was taking these often obscure literary characters and, when they were in the public domain, yes, we could use them and we could hopefully bring new ideas to them. There wasn’t any point in simply recycling these characters. I think that our interpretations of them have put them into new contexts, and have probably been truer to the originals than any of the official adaptations.... So, it is done with respect for the material, apart from our satirical touches--in which it is sometimes done with contempt for the material. But, this is a bit different to actually, one would have thought, breaching [sic] copyright and also breaching a lot of moral obligations”
In short, stealing and changing works is better than a straight up adaptation.... I admire Moore sticking to his principles (for better or worse) but for everything that has happened over the years (and I wholeheartedly think both DC and Moore can share the blame) it seems, as JMS pointed out, that he has lost the right to complain: “ The perception that these characters shouldn’t be touched by anyone other than Alan is both absolutely understandable and deeply flawed. As good as these characters are – and they are very good indeed – one could make the argument, based on durability and recognition, that Superman is the greatest comics character ever created. But I don’t hear Alan or anyone else suggesting that no one other than Shuster and Siegel should have been allowed to write Superman. Certainly Alan himself did this when he was brought on to write Swamp Thing, a seminal comics character created by Len Wein.” Now, I’m not here to point out the hypocrisy or moderate a pissing contest, but I think I’ve painted a decent enough view of how no one can complain about what is happening and that comics is comics is comics - it’s the way it works that characters are recycled by various writers and artists for infinity - and let me be frank, I would much rather read something by Brian Azzarello or Darwyn Cooke than Alan Moore in 2012. Another point to make is that as great as his canon of work is, Alan Moore is not the be all and end all and people seem to forget that Watchmen was a collaborative
process - Dave Gibbons is also a creator of Watchmen and in addition to the art, he contributed to the plot and even worked with Alan on some of the writing. He’s given his blessing to the series. Oh, and original series colourist John Higgins is doing some artwork on the prequels. And oh hey, there’s series editor Len Wein writing some stuff as well. One quarter of a collaboration doth not make a whole. That DC waited as long as they did to do this is something short of a miracle in my opinion and as the seminal comic work of our generation, Watchmen has been an untapped treasure trove for years. As I said, my only real complaint with the whole thing is yet again the comic industry is trying to turn yesterday into a profit instead of building the foundations for tomorrow. It’s not a ‘game changer’ as some idiots have stated, for how can continuing with the status quo be truly viewed as a game changer? Both the ‘New 52’ DC reboot and ‘Before The Watchmen’ seem to me like an adrenaline shot to a failing heart - temporary big cash grabs - but then where do you go from there? Will I be checking the comics out when they’re released? No. Despite being a big fan of some of the writers involved I have no desire to learn anything further about the characters, and I’m happy for Watchmen to remain a standalone work of art, for that is what it is and art endures forever, prequels, sequels or not. *tinyurl.com/jmsreply
**tinyurl.com/AlanMinterview
AINTUSE The Prophets Of Truth
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The Prophets Of Truth is the debut album from Austria’s skate punks Aintuse. Highlights include View From Nowhere with its political bridge, the ‘Eddie, Bruce and Paul’ (NOFX) esque intro to Live Your Life and the 46 second bast that is Addicted To Freedom. This comes as a refreshing change of pace as all but two tracks on the album last less tan two minutes thirty. It’s a solid debut but it doesn’t do enough to stand apart from many of the other bands currently playing 90’s Fat Wreck punk. Lockjaw Records EVERYTHING ON RED Songs For Sirens
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Everything On Red play synth heavy pop punk similar to Corrigan. For the most part this is a catchy release with some impressive guitar work and vocal hooks although it does fall flat with some annoyingly shrill synth lines and clichéd lyrics. There isn’t anything especially bad about this EP - It could just benefit from a few pace changes as one track often blends into the next, leaving you occasionally losing interest. This is still worth sampling though if you like this style. Lockjaw Records BAD IDEAS Murders Of Gods
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Merging folk and indie whilst keeping a punky edge is no easy task but Bad Ideas have managed to pull it off flawlessly. East Bound Midnight Train is an uplifting opener whilst Disguises could easily be a Gaslight Anthem track if they decided to ditch the New Jersey sound a few years back for a poppier direction. The title track could be the sound track to any scene in next summers big indie romcom whist One Seven Two is one of the albums blatant pop songs. Fans of Crazy Arm should like this. Shield Recordings
HARKER Loyal Than Most / Lights Off
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Harker is the acoustic side project of Three Summers Strong frontman Mark Boniface. Firstly, the Jawbreaker cover: Any Jawbreaker song covered well is good in my books. Loyal Than Most is a little more melodic then a lot of the acoustic punk currently emerging whilst Lights Off feels a little like Ducking Punches at times. The two originals show promise but two tracks do not make a complete EP. Still, as a taster of what’s to come Loyal Than Most / Lights Off has me excited. Here’s to the future! Moshtache Records
I’d never heard Worship This! until Richard sent me the 7” but their brand of Iron Chicesque pop punk instantly grabbed me and hasn’t let go since. The repeated line of DON’T WANNA DIE HERE during Michigan Ocean sets the tone for the rest of the EP and really gets the fists pumping. The songs tackle the pop punk classics of losing friends, growing up, being skint and having a love/hate relationship with the town or city you live. A great 7” from a great band and great label - get on it! Seven Inch Records / Messy Life Records
MAKE DO AND MEND Part And Parcel The history books are littered with substandard acoustic EPs quickly recorded by bands to escape record contracts or simply to extract more money from loyal fans. Luckily Part And Parcel is not one of these EPs. Make Do And Mend have been gaining an impressive amount of momentum lately and this six track EP can only help them continue in this way. Consisting of three album tracks, two originals and a cover of Touche Amore’s Home Away From Here this is quite a well balanced offering. STRUCK A NERVE Self Titled 7”
[ 9]
[ 9]
WORSHIP THIS! The Nard Years 7”
[ 9]
Ghostal sounds even more haunting in its reworked form whilst their rendition of Home Away From Home adds a new dimension to what is an already great song. Transparent Seas and Unknowingly Strong both benefit from the reworking with the new found gentleness giving the lyrics more depth then the album versions suggest. Untitled, the last song on Part and Parcel, hints at the album to come - and trust me, it sounds exciting. True, it could be said that it sounds like more of the same but when a bands debut is as strong as End Measured Mile then could any fan really complain? Pink Mist A THOUSAND ARROWS / BATTLE OF SANTIAGO SPLIT
[ 6]
Imagine Funeral For A Friends Matthew DaviesKreyes fronting a band of Gorilla Biscuits and Lifetime fans and you’ve got Struck A Nerve. Whilst the four tracks on this debut 7” play it safe by tackling subjects like selling out, Matts vocals and the guitar work keep it fresh and fast. ‘Millionaire Typewriters. Saturday Fightlife’ is instantly memorable while This Is Selling Out features enough hooks to make any pop producer proud. This 7” deserves your attention.
A Thousand Arrorws seem to be having a small identity crisis on their side of this split 7” - are they hardcore or simply hard rock? There’s nothing particularly bad about their two tracks - both have their moments with screamed vocals and tantalising guitar riffs but nothing really sticks in my memory. Battle Of Santiago tracks play much faster with neither song lasting over 3 minutes. Call Me Ishmael is the strongest track with its thunderous drums and desperate vocals.
Seven Inch Records / Messy Life Records
Seven Inch Records / Messy Life Records
OFF WITH THEIR HEADS / DISCHARGE SPLIT
[ 7]
I’ll be honest I would never have dreamt that these two bands would share a 7” in a million sundays. Despite this the two actually compliment each other quite well. Discharge continue to do what they do best with fast drums, chugging guitars and shouted vocals that sound like they come straight from 1977. OWTH are the slower of the two but Ryans slurred vocals and depressing lyrics compliment the split perfectly. I enjoyed it - it’s simply two solid tracks from two solid bands. Drunken Sailor Records SQUINTS PALLEDOROUS Demo 2012 / Live At The Croft
[ 7]
Squints are a relatively new band playing a mixture of emo and post hardcore. Not much has been committed to tape yet but the one track on the demo ‘We Play On A Real Diamond, Porter’ shows some brilliant potential. The live set is roughly recorded and a little loose but it does serve to showcase the bands songs - with a bit of time and some decent production these could be the start of a very promising album. These guys are definitely worth watching. Self Release ADAM BENNETT A Few Ideas
[ 7]
A Few Ideas is a collection of new and old songs rerecorded for Adams early 2012 euro tour. If you’ve heard any of his previous work (and being PFC fans no doubt you have) then you know what to expect. The old songs benefit from improved production and the occasional female vocals whilst the new new material confirms that he could be one of the most enjoyable undiscovered acoustic acts playing today. No doubt we’ll see another EP or Split from him this year. Self Released
AS WE SINK Ventures
[ 8]
Ever wondered how Make Do And Mend may have sounded if they were English? Me neither but now I know after listening to Ventures. This isn’t saying that As We Sink ape the Boston four pieces sound - far from it - but there are similarities in the gruff vocals and disarmingly honest lyrics. There is a great sense of urgency in the four tracks which make up this EP gang vocals and fast drums drive each song forward and makes you wonder how do a three piece make quite so much noise? Moshtache Records NEVERMEANT Weather & Atmosphere
[ 7]
It was a sad moment when Nevermeant called it a day. This four track EP - the only recording made of the band - shows great promise for the Balance And Composure / Title Fight pop punkers. The vocals aren’t the strongest but both singers stay within their ranges and the interplay between them can be rather catchy. Less Isn’t More is not a bad song but putting a slow number as the second track on a four track EP does ruin the pace. Ah well, it seems like it was just never meant to be. Self Released
Forrest hail from South Wales and play pop punk. Its that simple. Sounding a little like Saves The Day jamming with Crime In Stereo Forrest are a pleasant change from the Defend Pop Punk sound that has become so popular lately. Nothing More To Say opens with disarmingly honest line about trying to make a relationship work and really sets the tone for the rest of the EP. Forrest lyrics are a lot more introspective than you might expect but with music like this to back them up who’s complaining? WWSBD BURN DAYLIGHT Winter Coats, And Some Songs...
The answer to that is simple: Yes. In fact,
[ 8]
“I spent the winter writing songs about getting better, and if I’m being honest I’m getting there” quipped James when I asked about the EP I was to later release. Winter Coats is a four song collection of songs which didn’t fit the It’s Alright, It’s Just Blues EP he released in 2011. Winter Coats... is more Death Cab For Cutie than Springsteen but his vocals and lyrical stylings elevate the songs from a simple homage to something much more substantial. PFC Records
OUR TIME DOWN HERE Midnight Mass It’s criminal that Our Time Down Here have never really exploded into the mainstream and received the recognition they deserve. Although they’ve gone from playing shouty punk rock for Kid Dynamite fans to Alkaline Trio / Ziggy Stardust tinged pop punk over the last few years they never lost their integrity, and Midnight Mass stands as a testament to their ever evolving vision. But is it any good?
[ 7]
FORREST Before You Go
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it is very good. Pop punk sensibilities meet highly personal lyrics on tracks like 4 Months whilst the name drop of West Quay in Every Little Thing She Does Is Tragic reminds everyone that OTDH are proudly a product of the south. That’s not to say this is a flawless album though - some older fans may feel like the choir and sampled rain are a little too indulgent but to my ears these are simply the sounds of a band that is always evolving. The hidden track should silence these people though as it harks back to the early days with fast drums, furious guitars and classic youth crew vocals. This could easily be the album of 2012. Take Flight Records
GREAT CYNICS In The Valley
[ 7]
I’ll be honest - I really enjoy Great Cynics. I like the energy that Bob and Iona bring to band and I’m always up for hearing Giles sing about waking up hung over and skating through summer. I just can’t shake the disappointment that there is no new material on this 7”. The three songs all benefit from being rerecorded but without any new material to showcase In The Valley just feels a little unnecessary. Would it have hurt to have included one new track on the B side? Household Name Records THE EJECTIONS The Second Coming EP
[ 8]
The Ejections don’t play the kind of punk that Bridge Nine sells - sorry. The Second Coming EP is seven songs of traditional snotty UK punk which wouldn’t sound out of place during 1977 if the Descendents had been rubbing shoulders with UK Subs and Sex Pistols on the streets of London. Whilst the normal subjects of having no money, a shit government and hating taxes do come up it is all handled with a brilliantly sarcastic sense of humour which ties the whole EP together. Self released YOUR DEMISE The Golden Age It’s 2004 again, or at least that’s the year Your Demise hoped you hadn’t listened to any music whatsoever. Their latest offering is The Golden Age; it spends its time switching between Bad Religion and some childish rendition of Hardcore. The Bad Religion sections resemble them but without the politics, intelligence, meaningful lyrics; simply stripped to the sound. A perfect example of this is the second track and latest single These Lights. Born A Snake and Push Me Under are childish renditions of Hardcore,
DRONES Mutiny
[ 8]
Political Punk and Surrey are two phrases you rarely expect to hear together but then again you probably haven’t ever heard of Drones. This surrey three piece play fast, pissed off punk that is perfect to skate to with fast guitars, even faster drums and urgent, screamed lyrics. Highlights for me include Raise The Arms with its quieter intro providing a welcome break from the sonic onslaught and the A Wilhelm Scream-esque Mutiny. Drones don’t want to reinvent the wheel - they want to smash it. Lockjaw Records THINK BIG! Changes / Losing Ground
[ 5]
Think Big! play a rather generic, style of poppunk somewhere between Half Hearted Hero and Hit The Lights. They have all the elements of this style down, but the execution is by the numbers, and the melodic guitar work is quite basic and uninspired; think early Blink 182. There is a ton of filler, and while the song writing improved on Changes, the rougher vocal style isn’t necessarily better. They have left me trying to find a single, honest selling point. Garry Lee All At Sea Records
[ 3] in the sense that it’s ‘angry’ although this is in the same way that frowning and throwing a faux tantrum is ‘angry’. Everything they’re screaming about are the most childish things someone could get angry over. It’s not clear whether its a parody or they genuinely have that shallow of a lifestyle. They’re not the first band to be shallow and neither will they be the last, but when Hardcore should be about integrity, honesty and most of all passion, it’s missed every single one of those by a long country mile. It’s competent; however it is also as forgetful and passionate as a kiss off your grandma. Jon Andrews Visible Noise Records
REMOVALS Disconnect Disconnect Comp
[ 7]
Compilations can be a tricky thing as there will rarely be a cohesive theme throughout the record aside from the genre choice. Saying that, Disconnect Disconnect Records did a sterling job of collecting some of the best lesser known punk bands from multiple countries to feature. Highlights for me include PJ Bond, Harker, Darko and Overtime Heroes. I’m not sure why Our Time Down Here contributed that track as it is so out of character for them but overall it’s a good compilation. Disconnect Disconnect Records THE JORNETA STREAM Mowgli
[ 7]
First things first - for a self recorded EP this sounds great. Secondly, t his Colchester based trio remind me of a slightly more twiddly Reuben which is a definite plus in my book. There isn’t too much variation in the three tracks which make up Mowgli but each one is a solid slab of undeniably english sounding alt rock. The intro to Robbery has more than a hint of American Football in it before the heavy guitars and they slip into straight up rock for the chorus. I’d be interested to see these guys try a full album next. Self Released H2O Don’t Forget Your Roots
[ 6]
Despite being a big fan of H2O I can’t help but admit that I felt a little disappointed by this collection of covers. Don’t Forget Your Roots see’s Toby and co covering such legends as Bad Brains, Madball, Ramones, The Clash and Rancid. The only problem is that they cover them so closely that there is very little unique about the recordings. It’s listenable but a lot of the songs only go to show that Toby really doesn’t have the best voice when he’s doing anything but shouting. A poor release from a good band. Bridge Nine
JAMES HUNT Three Songs From Home
[ 5]
This sounds stylistically similar to the Against Me! - Acoustic 7’‘ released a few years back, but by a musician that lacks the necessary song writing chops and charms to make any real impact. The first track “70cl & 20 Bottles of Stella” shows promise, but the remaining two are a letdown, sung with less confidence while continually drifting out of key. The hooks simply aren’t strong enough, and sadly, you get the feeling that Hunt is already aware of this. Try harder. Garry Lee Self Released HUMAN DON’T BE ANGRY Self Titled
[ 9]
Human Don’t Be Angry is the newest project by Arab Straps Malcolm Middleton. This may give you an idea of how it sounds but you’d probably be wrong. HDBA merges atmospheric synths with acoustic guitar, samples and gentle vocals to create an album which rarely breaks its stride, captivating you as it ebbs and flows. Highlights include H.B.D.A Theme Tune with its leading guitar line and Monologue: River which is probably the nearest to classic Middleton you’ll find. Chemikal Underground Records FREEZE THE ATLANTIC Volcanoes
[ 6]
Freeze The Atlantic are not a bad band by any means, but Volcanoes is a poor song hiding under a cleverly layered mix. It simply doesn’t go anywhere. It also suffers from being blown away the B-side “The Colour”. That particular track is much more interesting vocally, has a powerful chorus and reminds me of bands like Dopamine and Jimmy Eat World with more of an indie rock flavour. A poor A-side and strong B-side makes for an unimpressive overall score. Garry Lee Alcopop Records
[ 9]
EVERY TIME I DIE Ex-Lives ETID are a band that have always bettered themselves with each release and ‘Ex Lives’, the bands 6th full length release (which is an achievement in itself in a scene that is so temporary), follows this tradition by taking their unique formula and once again ramping it up. The infectious southern riffs, ear splitting heaviness and thumping bass lines that reek of hung over headaches are all here as well as drums that follow the guitars but always add complex fills and beats to the mix. All this comes together HEAVY HANDS Self Titled
[ 8]
Youth Crew revival bands can go one of two ways they either sound embarrassingly dated or enjoyably fresh. Heavy Hands are the latter and they really find their feet on this 7” which combines the new EP with their older demo. Step Up is the perfect track for when you just want to lose your mind - fast, furious and containing lyrics everyone can relate to. The other two tracks are fairly similar but variation was never Youth Crews strong point. All in all this is six minutes of hardcore goodness. Pinky Swear Records GNARWOLVES Fun Tape
[ 9]
With Gnarwolves, I knew instantly that I’d discovered something special. It is such a likable record, even with production that I feel is rather lacking. More melodic than Pacer, less aggressive than The Arteries, they fit into the UK scene quite neatly. On tracks like “Decay”, they admirably experiment a bit beyond a straight skate punk-influenced sound. This three-piece have come from nowhere and absolutely blown me away. Labels, take a ticket and form an orderly queue. Garry Lee Brain Ache Records
to bolster Buckley’s (arguably) strongest vocal and lyrical effort to date. The lyrics are bizarre as ever, sarcastic and satirical throughout with a variety of themes. The vocals are shrieked, screamed, sung and shouted, never letting you get into a comfort zone and as such the whole album keeps you on the edge of your seat. There’s no denying that on past albums they have progressed more than they have done with Ex Lives, but if something isn’t broke then why fix it? Ex Lives is Every Time I Die at their best, and progression is clear throughout but it’s never too progressive to alienate earlier fans. Charlie Neal Epitaph Records GUNNING FOR TAMAR Time Trophies
[ 6]
Gunning For Tamar excell when they are playing twinkly guitar lines over solid power chords as shown on title track. The lighter parts - like the first two thirds of Chocolate Hooves - feel a little forgettable but the more experimental bridge draws it back. The two remixes are a mixed bag with the alternative version of Chocolate Hooves actually bettering the original. Sadly the Time Trophies remix comes across as a little irritating with its constant mid-pitch ticking. All in all it’s a little hit and miss. Alcopop Records ASH VICTIM Making Sense Talking Nonsense
[ 2]
Chuck Ragan, this is your fault. You’ve spawned an army of unapologetically mediocre gruff, leftist acoustic musicians, and Ash Victim, so far, may just be the worst example I’ve heard. I’m not sure that I can top any of the criticism voiced in the self-deprecating title track, but I should add that I felt the chord structures were unimaginative, and the vocals seem so forced and fake. I simply could not wait for this album to end. If you know what’s good for you then you’ll avoid this. Garry Lee Self Released
EGOS AT THE DOOR Blankets Of Denial
[ 7]
Egos At The Door remind of me a less political Refused whilst also incorporating the technical proficiency of the much missed techpunks Blakfish. The band thrash through eleven tracks without losing momentum although a lack of any real variation does begin to take its toll towards the end. The clean vocals aren’t the best but they do offer a pleasant break from the chaos the make up the majority of the songs. This is not a perfect album, but it is raw and full of potential. Lockjaw Records WAKE THE DEAD Meaningless Expectations 10”
[ 9]
Wake The Dead hail from france and play the kind of punky hardcore I am a complete sucker for. Equal parts Have Heart and Strike Anywhere, Wake The Dead storm through six tracks in just over sixteen minutes leaving the listener very few chances to catch their breath before reeling them back in. The Feeling Inside is probably the highlight of the EP with elements of post-Dead Horse Touche Amore surfacing to create something quite captivating. Don’t sleep on this! Lockjaw Records M.O.R.A A.M.O.R
[ 7]
M.O.R.A are a female led Hardcore band from Finland. They play a pissed off brand of metal tinged hardcore with punky dual vocals. With only two songs lasting over two minutes this nine track album is over sooner then you’d expect. It isn’t a perfect album - production lets it down and the language difference means that lyrics sometimes sound more humorous then intended but as a blast of angsty punk then A.M.O.R is as good as any English or American album I’ve heard this year. Get on it. Self Released
[ 8]
BASTIONS Hospital Corners The biggest challenge for any band who are known for their live shows is keeping that energy in the studio. Fortunately Bastions manage to keep this sense of urgency on their debut album. Hospital Corners is a dynamic beast, unafraid to slow down when needed (the atmospheric guitar solo that is I Tried To Stitch The Shore To The Sea being the most obvious example) whilst also taking risks like including a slightly unnerving answer phone message at the end of The Lengths. For the most ONLY FUMES AND CORPSES Selfish Act 1
[ 8]
Imagine if Pianos Become The Teeth tried to thrash through thirteen songs in eleven minutes and you’ve got Only Fumes And Corpses. The vocals are occasionally difficult to understand although the passion and gang vocals make up for this. Somehow the guitarist still manages to find the time to solo during some of the songs but it only goes to so how competent this Irish five piece are. Part two is expected later this year so if you enjoy this and are hungry for more then don’t despair. Lockjaw Records THE DOMESTICS Keep It Lean
[ 8]
Hardcore punk with a VERY British feel describes this record perfectly. Influenced by bands like Black Flag and Discharge, The Domestics are a rare breed in 2012 and this record does nothing but reinforce that. Fast riffs, short songs and aggressive vocals means the whole record sounds like a verbal ‘fuck you’ - a true throwback to the 80s. Whilst is isn’t revolutionary, this record was never meant to change lives. It is, however, a sign that punk is very much alive and kicking. Charlie Neale Kibou Records
part this helps Bastions avoid the most common issue the plagues hardcore bands - predictability. That isn’t to say that Hospital Corners always gets it right - indeed, there are a few moments where Bastions play it safe and deliver another predictable hardcore cliché - but these are few and far between. If I had to pick one song off the album to represent Bastions then it’d be Dark Father, the albums six minute closing track. Combining the raw energy that make them a live favourite and the musical maturity that make Hospital Corners so successful Dark Father hints at what could be a very bright future for the band. In At The Deep End Records REN SPITS AT MAGPIES Self Titled
[ 8]
You must have been living under a rock if you have even the slightest interest in the DIY scene but never heard of Ren. Her self titled EP is a great example of DIY photocopied sleeve, store bought CDr and handwritten notes. Dark, brooding and entirely captivating Ren tackles politics, feminism and love during the 12 minutes she plays with a flair that isn’t often seen. Occasionally Ren is a little difficult to understand but for a DIY recording that’s to be expect. I’m impressed. Self Released YOUNG ATTENBOROUGH Demo 2011
[ 7]
Southampton isn’t all about boats, football fans and university students - it is also home to power pop punk trio Young Attenborough. Their three track demo comes in two variations - bear making tea, and bear making coffee. The songs are the same - three tracks of upbeat goodness that just beg to be listened to in the sun with a bottle of bulmers. It’s hard to tell how these guys will fare when it comes to recording a full EP or an album but this three tracker demo is enjoyable. Something Honest To Dance To
CRAZY ARM (The Fighting Cocks, Kingston) w/ Apologies I Have None, Great Cynics, Fighting Fiction. And so it begins, another night down the Fighting Cocks like any other. We depart from Wagamamas early enough to catch the majority of Fighting Fiction. Although the room wasn’t packed the audience were definitely paying attention and I can see why - for young looking guys they can definitely place. Kingston favourites Great Cynics play next. I’ve lost count of the amount of times I’ve seen Giles play the cocks - either as a solo artist or part of the current three piece - but it’s always fun and tonight no different. They’ve really found their feet as a full band now and things can only continue to improve for the quirky three piece now people are familiar with their debut album Don’t Need Much. Granted, diving into the crowd during the last song is hardly the most original way to end a set (I think The Computers set the standard for that now) but when it’s all as fun as this who really cares. Apologies, I Have None are up next. I’ll be honest - I was never that bothered about this band before their debut album London came out but since that dropped I’ve been obsessed. They played a solid London heavy set and even treated us to a reworked song or two from their days as a punky two piece. It seems fitting that they were supporting Crazy Arm tonight as the two bands compliment each other brilliantly - maybe someone should organise a split 7”? Just saying.
Crazy Arm arrive and the atmosphere changes almost instantly. It really is clear who the majority are here to see. It isn’t look before the whole band are smiling as the crowd sing their songs back to them. The crowd soon get into full swing with a few crowd surfers annoying security towards the end but as the last chord fades out and the PA kicks in I couldn’t help but wish they played more off of Born To Ruin. Still, that’s only a small complaint on an overall enjoyable night.
Ren Spits At Magpies Tour Diary Ok, I know it isn’t called that but the full title messes with my beautiful layout. During the last two weeks of August last year the three singer songwriters toured the UK and this tells their story through words, photos and drawings - all thrown together in a delightfully haphazard way. It might not be the most content heavy zine out there but it’s a pleasure to read and it left me wishing that more people did tour zines.
I Am I Am is a poetry zine from Charlie of L’Amour Records. I’m not an expert on poetry so I won’t comment on that but it’s been constructed in a beautifully DIY way which I really dig. It’s limited to 5 so I’m waiting for Charlie to get famous so I can flog this and become a millionaire.
Rantipole #2 Rantipole is definitely the most punk of the zines featured this issue. This issue is a big improvement on the first with more content and more jibes at the establishment. Chris’s piece of why rape jokes aren’t funny (also in Good Looking South #1) is easily the zines highlight - well written and thoughtfully constructed articles are always enjoyed. Still, I can’t help but be a little disappointed by the lack of Migs Last Laugh.
Rebellious Jukebox #3 Rebellious Jukebox is back after a fairly long break and it really feels like they’ve found their stride with this issue. It’s bigger than either of the previous issues with interviews including Frank Turner, Converge and Hang The Bastard. My main criticism is that he still only includes one non-music piece aside from the introduction. The ‘Rant from...’ pieces are great but I’d like to see more.
No Pop, No Managers #3 Jon has finally put out another issue of the UKs smallest music zine. How can such a tiny zine take so long Jon? Either way, this issues includes some quality pictures and brief reviews on Johnny Foreigner, Battle For Paris and WCOLT. Excellent. Beat Motel #9 I know this is old but I only just got into Beat Motel. Issue #9 is the sex issue. As you’d expect, the columns range from funny to moving, from awkward to highly relatable. Does this make it the zine worlds OK magazine in a sense? I’m not sure. Either way, most of the columns were well written and amusing to read. There’s all the normal reviews but lets face it - it’s the columns that make this issue. Check Lights Go Out and other distros for it now.