Shattered Glass Magazine Issue 2

PLUS:

BREED 77 FUNERAL FO R A FRIEND THE GET-UP KIDS HOLLYWOOD UNDEAD APOLOGIES I HAVE NONE COMPLY OR D IE MARTIN WAI NWRIGHT VOODOO GLO WSKULLS

4 Free album 32 Album Reviews The track listings for the free download We look at some of the latest releases, in‐ we’re giving you with this magazine cluding The Used and Martin Wainwright 5 Latest News Martin Wainwright 37 Some of the important headlines from the Martin Wainwright faces the random ques‐ world of music tion generator! Fun stuff!

9 Comply or Die Hollywood Undead 38 Singer Smell’s top 5 favourite Our friends at Sphere Mag provide albums of all time more content from the dark side 10 Breed 77 We catch up with Breed 77 Guitarist Danny Felice

Saving Time 40 Check this band out, they’re one of pop‐ punks brightest hopes 12 Live Reviews Introducing... 43 Our reviews of some of the summer’s Promising acts including Ben Marwood, Festivals and gigs Dont Let Paris Fool You and more 24 FFaF Contacting SGM 46 Funeral for a Friend guitarist Kris Coombs Want to contribute to this magazine and Roberts tells us about the new album our website? Find out how!

26 The Blackout Credits 47 Our cover feature about the Welsh rock Find out who wrote what and who took band The Blackout what photo . They’re not all ours...

Because we’re such a lovely bunch here at Shattered Glass Media, we’ve been busy compiling a nice little 12 track compilation album for you beautiful people to download... For free! It features mostly punk and pop punk acts, which can never be a bad thing can it?

The track listings are below, so head over to www.shatteredglassmedia.co.uk/download from 25th September to get your free album, complete with covers. How many other free magazines do you know that give away more than just their pages for nowt? Damn, we really are good to you!

SECOND CHANCE: OH NO

MORE THAN NORMAL: BLINDSIDE

MARTIN WAINWRIGHT: IDENTITY

KICKBACK: FOUNDADTIONS

COMPLY OR DIE: 9 5 TO LIFE

FAT PHACE: BIG FAT MAN

APOLOGIES I HAVE NONE: 100 CLUB

MEGA GAMES TWO: JOHNNY DON'T GO

DON'T LET PARIS FOOL YOU: THERE USED TO BE A DUCK POND HERE

US metal act Soil, who brought us the head banging classic Halo are set to return to the UK in November as support to Alt rockers Shinedown. For more details head over to www.myspace.com/ soil

The usually quiet and well mannered Fall Out Boy front man could join the list of famous rock stars who’ve spent time behind bars.

Unlike many of his rock n roll counterparts, Stump’s offence is something much more trivial.

The 25 year old singer was arrested for a two year old warrant for driving without a licence. In California, where the arrest was made, it is an offence to drive without a state licence, and Stump was only in possession of his Illinois licence.

Shortly after being released on a $15,000 bail, he told MTV news: “All I really have to say is ignorance of the law isn't innocence. I didn't want to give up my Illinois driver's license and was unaware that was a crime. It is, by the way, in the state of California.

Lesson learned. I technically broke a law, so technically I deserve whatever I get. But man, is my mom gonna be pissed."

The crime faces a possibility of six months in prison, so with Fall Out Boy planning to take a year out next year, the timing is well suited.

Following years of bust ups, it seems that Oasis have finally called it a day. The Gallagher brothers have been no strangers to fights, but rumour has it that Liam and Noel haven’t spoken to each other off stage for around four years.

Perhaps their biggest fight of their lives came not long before they were due to take to the stage in Paris. Later that night, a message on the bands official website from Noel said: “It's with some sadness and great relief to tell you that I quit Oasis tonight.

People will write and say what they like, but I simply could not go on working with Liam a day longer.”

It’s been a turbulent career for the Manchester rock band, but this is the biggest problem they’ve faced so far. Despite all the reports though, the band have survived since the early nineties at each other's throats, so it would be no surprise if they’re back at some point in the future.

Pop singer Avril Lavigne has walked out on her husband, Sum 41 singer Deryk Whibley after three years of marriage. According to a statement from Avril Lavigne, the pair have remained friends throughout, and have just grown apart, however reports suggest otherwise. US Weekly reported that Whibley was told to ‘get out of the pair’s $9.5 million home and wait for the divorce papers.’

The news comes just after Lavigne has confirmed that work on her new album is almost finished, having work on the majority of it with Whibley at the studio in their home in California.

File Sharing is a topic which has been debated in the music world for what seems like an age now.

Some artists have spoken out against it, Metallica being a great example, whereas others have said that it’s the music that matters, not the royalties.

Bands from what has been dubbed the ‘myspace generation’ have normally been the ones claiming it’s a good thing.

Lily Allen made her name on myspace, the site which lets musicians stream their music for free, and used to allow free downloads.

In the past, Allen has spoken out praising such mediums, and stated that she owes her career to it. Fast forward to this week and Lily Allen has changed her tune. Apparently file sharing is now a bad thing, especially anyone not paying for her music. “ For new talent though, file sharing is a disaster as it's making it harder and harder for new acts to emerge.” the singer claimed, forgetting why she is so successful.

If you speak to any fairly successful band, they will probably tell you that the big money comes from touring, not from record sales, so the more people who find out about that band and go to a show the better. Gigs have quite a young audience for the most part, so surely what little money the teenage fans do have, they can spend on going to a show rather than having to buy an album, which the band will see little money from.

If a band has a particular problem with file sharing, which is, after all, illegal, then so be it, but when its an act who used methods such as this to make their name, then speaking out against it once they start to feel the money from their career, that’s when it all becomes a little too much.

UK Extreme metallers Cradle of Filth were forced to cut their Bloodstock Open Air set short following a Gobstopper being thrown at the stage and hitting guitarist Paul Allender in the back. Allander was taken into hospital following the incident.

Vocalist Dani Filth said: “I apologise to all our fans who were awaiting our encore and can only hope that this selfish bastard who TRIED to ruin the night for everyone is caught and sorted out.”

In other news, Bloodstock Open Air has announced the first set of bands for next year’s festival. Rage, Obituary and Ross the Boss are set to appear, with over a hundred more to be announced.

Tennessee pop rockers Paramore have announced their biggest UK tour to date, playing at some of the biggest and well known venues in the UK. Following a sold out show at the Islington Academy in London, the band, fronted by Hayley Williams, have revealed that they will return to the UK in December for a series of arena shows. The band are set to play huge venues including Manchester MEN arena and Wembley Arena.

Support will come from the UK’s own You Me At Six.

Following the simply awful showing at this year’s Download, the band are set to return for a series of dates in December.

Following that set at Download, and the amount of bad press which followed, it will be interesting to see just how well this tour does.

Unless the support acts are something special, I know for sure that SGM are likely to be avoiding this tour like the plague. Manson would be a great name to cover for any magazine, but the biggest problem is having to sit through the show.

The Clash ‐ The Clash Every song on this album is a classic. Its also got a really raw sound which I love, Basically this record should be in everybody’s collec‐ tion. Strummer’s a fucking legend, as are the other members.

Wu Tang Clan—Enter the Wu Tang Wu tang are fucking incredible and more punks should check them out they don't give a shit like most "punk" bands do these days.

C.R.E.A.M, Protect ya Neck, Method Man all fucking classics and make me bust a few moves every time I hear them.

Conflict‐There’s No Power Without Control This is Conflict’s last record but in my opinion their best, "Carlo Guliani" is an incredible trib‐ ute to Carlo Guliani, who was shot in the head by police at the anti globalisation demo in geno 2001."Theres no power with out con‐ trol" is a very powerful song with incredible lyrics. And another fave is "now you put your foot in it" about the fucking madness of the BSE out break and the horrific cull that fol‐ lowed.

Motorhead ‐ Bomber The title track "Bomber" is my favourite Mo‐ torhead tune. Also Leaving Here is on this album which is another classic (covered by Lars and the bastards) this is Motorhead in there prime. Ace of spades is good but peo‐ ple don’t look to the rest of the Motorhead catalogue, which is where the real gems are.

Crass‐Feeding of the 5000 For a band that couldn’t "play" they still made the most innovative music of there time its almost hip hop in some parts. The lyrics cannot be beaten. Many people listen to the 1st tune for the 1st time and write it off instantly but if you actually take time to listen to it you will realise there genius. Bol‐ lox to "musicians" this is real punk.

Breed 77 are pioneers of their own genre, Flamenco Rock. They mix the regular rock and metal conventions with cultural influences from their homeland of Gibraltar.

Formed in 1996, the band have since played alongside some of the biggest names in rock and metal, won Kerrang and Metal Hammer awards and sold plenty of records around the globe. We were lucky enough to catch up with guitarist Danny recently to find out You're a band with quite a unique set of influences. How important is it to have an individual sound that really stands out?

Well because of been born in Gibraltar it was very easy to get influenced by the music around you which was just that Flamenco, Arabic etc. We never felt comfortable doing something that didn't felt to be truly ourselves, you should always follow your heart and not just what is fashionable at the time.

What can we expect from your upcoming album 'Insects'?

What makes it stand out from your previous albums?

Its our best album to date musically and lyrically, we are very proud of how its come out and I can tell you its powerful ,heavy and reflects very well the state of our minds in the hell we call society, it’s still Breed but at its best Do you all have an equal input in the song writing process?

No the composers are Paul, Pedro and myself You recently toured with Korn and Killswitch Engage in Spain, how was that? Anything crazy happen?

Awesome tour, both bands Korn and Killswitch were quite friendly and we all know how crazy the Spanish audience can get, lets say there was plenty of partying after the concert.

What is your favourite song to play live?

Its always changing. Now I would say The Battle of Hatin or Insects from the new album Where is your favourite place to play?

Hmmmm difficult question, gigs are pretty much the same everywhere. Maybe Cancun, the beach is awesome. Or Tokoyo You've come a long way since you were declared the best UK Unsigned band back in 1998, what advice would you give to the current upcoming bands?

Best advice keep on going if you love this, many bands have different reasons. We enjoy what we do and we are good friends so its easy to enjoy playing in Breed, travelling around the world with your mates and having a good time. Bring it on!

For more information check out the band’s myspace at myspace.com/breed77

Kendal Calling 31st July, 1st & 2nd August Lowther Deer Park (Nr Penrith, Cumbria)

Friday 31st July Kendal Calling (actually 20 miles away from Kendal in Pen‐ rith) is a much more family orientated affair than many of the main UK festivals. Apart from the Tribe of Tat area for kids there was also the Kendal Calling Olympics an inflat‐ able Church for mock marriages of people who only met last night on the dance floor in the Traffic Tent and a Snow Slope There is also a real ale pub where you can avail your‐ self of the specially brewed “Kendal Calling Ale” which is a far cry from the corporate lagers that is the main tipple at many of the big festivals. There’s also less of the mad dash from one stage to the next to make sure you don’t miss the “next big thing”. “Laid back” is the watchword.

Having said all that there’s no shortage of big name acts and upcoming bands on show this weekend.

As ever, keeping an eye on the weather forecast was very much on the agenda in the days running up to Kendal Call‐ ing, and it didn’t make good reading. However, the rain rained at night and the sun shone during the day. So T‐ shirts, factor 15 and wellies were the order of the day.

Friday night, tent pitched, airbed inflated it was time to go to a gig. The crowd watching The Streets on the main stage could have had their spirits dampened by the light rain but were fully behind Mr Skinner and, of course, gave their biggest cheers to DryYour Eyes and You’re Fit. How‐ ever, I found the performance lacked a certain sparkle and seemed to be coming from a man who’s heart was no longer 100% into it any more. Before the end of the Streets’ set I wandered over to the “We are Calling” tent and caught a band who have sparkle by the bucket load.

Fight Like Apes are an Irish four‐piece from Dublin who play dirty electro with balls. Big‐haired frontwoman MayKay and Bill Oddie lookalike Pockets attack their synths with gusto while the whole sound is bolstered by Tom’s thunderous bass. There’s a lot of sex and humour involved which has to be a winner and certainly whipped the crowd into a frenzy. So much so an over‐zealous bouncer forcibly removed one girl from the tent but failed to catch her when she escaped his clutches and ran back to the front again.

Pint of Kendal Calling Ale and back to the tent for Tortillas and Dips (and another beer).

Saturday 1st August Saturday started damp, but when the sun came out and the mud trek to the toilets was completed it was time for more music. Having a penchant for the dirty end of rock and roll The Kabeedies didn’t really do it for me. Middle class, flippant, tomfoolery with songs that dealt with such inane subjects as Petroleum Jelly and Pallendromes they have a whiff of The Young Knives style. High school indie for well heeled students.

The Red Light Company were a slightly more pleasurable experience than expected. When I last saw them as support to Kaiser Chiefs they seemed to be out of their depth. On this occasion they seemed much more self‐assured, possi‐ bly due to the air‐play that their recent single Arts and Crafts received on Radio 1. It’s all pretty safe and standard Indie Rock a la a less glum Editors or Maroon 5. Quite en‐ tertaining for a half hour slot on a sunny Saturday but I doubt if they’re going to set the world on fire.

In the current musical landscape bands that have success‐ ful debut albums seem to be under pressure to release their second offering within 12 to 18 months of the first (see

Arctic Monkeys, Pigeon Detectives) to “maximise the opportu‐ nity”.

The Sunshine Underground seem to have bucked this trend, it’s now three years since debut Raise The Alarm made the NME’s top 50 albums of 2006. The official line is that they have been writing many new songs and that only the top quality ones will make their much anticipated new album. Here at Kendal Calling they put on a more mature live show than I have seen previously. Gone are the down amongst the crowd moments from Craig Wellington and it is now all about the music. And what music it is. All the old favourites are there to gather the masses into one big pogoing monster.

Commercial Breakdown check. The Way It Is check. Put You In Your Place check. A reworked Borders gave the song a softer more bal‐ lad‐like feel. Coupled with all these TSU classics are a handful of new ones which were ecstatically received and sounded immense.

All the elements we have come to expect from TSU are there but with that bit more beef and power. Welcome back TSU, you’ve been away too long, but it sounds like the wait will be well worth it.

A short walk from the Holy Quail Bar is the Comedy tent where I stumble upon one Micky P Kerr doing a solo set the day before his main set on the Calling Stage on Sunday. The fact he is on his own and slightly worse for wear matters not one jot. His northern “charm” and his pin‐sharp social observations win him many new friends. Whether it be in song, poem or rap his sense of comedy timing and ability to think on his feet make him a must see. A John Cooper‐Clarke for the 21st century if you will.

In the twelve months that have elapsed since their last perform‐ ance at Kendal Calling (and the acoustic set in the Cake tent) a lot has happened to Twisted Wheel. Hyped up by NME, support slots on mega‐gigs for Oasis and Paul Weller. Album panned by NME. Whatever the merits of the album reviews these guys certainly come up with the goods live. Many liken them to a mash‐up of The Jam and Oasis. This, to some extent is true, but they have a few songs which I can only refer to as their “knees up mother brown” port folio. Who Stole the Sun, Let Them Have It All being examples.

And it’s in these songs where Twisted wheel seem to be more comfortable and make them a little more unique than some of the other The Jam soundalike bands that are around at the moment.

The start of Frank Turner’s set in the Kaylied tent gets off to a bad, nay, false start. Two or three attempts to get his guitar work‐ ing fail and so, totally unphazed, Mr Turner decides to perform an a capella version of Chris TT’s M1 Song while his techies sort the problem out. What a Star. The Kaylied tent was 3‐deep outside the tent to watch a performer at the height of his powers. “Folk” these songs may be, but Frank has much to say and he says it eloquently.

Politics, love, rejection, hangovers, terminal illness. There’s some‐ thing here for anyone and everyone to relate to. The Real Damage, Photosynthesis and The Queen Is Dead get the biggest audience response of the evening. With the initial technical difficulties out of the way Frank proceeds to break not one, but two strings and still soldiers on as if it’s all part of the show. You can only come away from this gig loving the guy.

Sunday 2nd August For Micky P Kerr’s second set of the weekend we are treated to an almost sober Micky with full band, featuring the, seemingly, omnipresent Chris Catalyst on bass. Just as witty and with the usual audience participation this second show can only increase the admiration for this reformed shoplifter (he’s banned for life from Morrison’s you know). Some reviewer once said he was arro‐ gant, so he wrote a song about it explaining that it cannot possibly be construed as arrogance if you are genuinely better than every‐ body else. True, Micky, very true.

I had intended (according to my itinerary) to catch the Rum‐ blestrips but I was sucked in by the charms of Mr Kerr so only caught the magnificent Alarm Clock and Girls and Boys In Love at the end of their set.

Lucid Dreams in the Calling tent turned up the reverb knob to 11 and created an all enveloping, atmospheric sound. If you like your music to be totally immersive Lucid Dreams are for you. If you like to music to dance and clap your hands to, look elsewhere.

I found Idlewild rather underwhelming. Their songs are strong enough but the two things that made the biggest impression on me were: 1) did there have to be a lead guitar change for EVERY song; and 2) If you have a front man who only sings shouldn’t he be a bit less passive.

Birds vs Planes were another band that played Kendal Calling last year. Frontwoman, Jenny, struggles to keep her voice together tonight. She is visibly shocked when she looks at her set list to see what song is coming next, knowing it will demand a high degree of powerful vocal delivery. This band have the potential to scale the dizzy heights of the indie rockface, but, as yet, have found that kil‐ ler song illusive.

The ultimate hightlight of the Kendal Calling festival was always going to be The King Blues in the Calling Tent. Another singer with a voice that was on the verge of packing in altogether, Itch just gave it everything. For this monumental effort the band were paid back many times over by the reaction of the crowd. Itch seemed genuinely surprised that anyone would want to see them rather than main stage act Ash. But they came in their droves and much sweating and crowd surfing ensued. Their melding of Ska beats with politically charged messages is powerful indeed, but it’s on the more personal songs that most of us can relate. A poem about why women (who are goddesses in Itch’s eyes) need to have 5 different types of shampoo is a case in point. You may not agree with ALL the political posturing of The King Blues, but this is a band that have something to say. And they deserve to be heard.

And so, the end of another Kendal Calling. Rain and Sun in equal measures and the line‐up gets stronger every year. One thing I must say though, to all the Knuckleheads who threw their rubbish, including bottles, cans and plastic bags into the glorious Cumbrian countryside, I hope you are ashamed of yourselves. But then again, these people don’t have consciences. The site is a deer park for god sake. I hope that none of the wildlife is injured in anyway as a con‐ sequence of these brainless idiots’ actions.

See you next year. [OAP]

The Flatliners, Mike TV, Girlfixer, Resolution 242.

04/09/09 The Maze, Nottingham Resolution 242:‐ Unfortunately everyone seems to be able to be in a band now. Talent takes a back line to looking cool. And it seems the easiest way to look cool is to be in a band. Whilst this may not strictly be true of resolution 242 there is still a definitive line between this band and bands with record deals. Hailing from sleepy Stratford Upon Avon, this female fronted fourpiece make their own brand of Reggae/Punk with a hint of dub, a genre which seems to be growing by the day. As you may have guessed by now this band is one of those which contrib‐ ute to the genre by existing, but not making any great changes to it.

Their songs were what you expect to hear from a band first on in a small underground venue, offering very little variation. Although their at‐ tempts to get the crowd involved must be commended. They may have upcoming support slots for Sonic Boom 6 and Ghost of a Thousand, but remember, Beer is cheaper at home, have an extra before you leave and listen to any generic unsigned reggae punk band, you'll have the same experience.

Girlfixer:‐ Now I can't comment too much on this band, I was outside having a chat with a couple of guys from Flatliners, and from what I saw, it was probably the right move. The Distillers seems to have given birth to a new brand of female lead singers. Those with attitude, and a dodgy voice. That being said, the crowd seemed to enjoy their set immensely, booing the sound tech after he cut the sound before their final song for over‐running. Whilst not a unique brand of punk music, they do seem to have their fans, and if you like the Distillers then chances are you will like girlfixer. And, as I've said before, bands with 50% female members are always worth watching.

Voodoo Glowskulls, China Shop Bull, Acid Drop 10/8/09 Carpe Diem, Leeds

(Not so) fresh from their weekend at Rebellion Festival in Blackpool ACiD DROP were their usual indomitable selves (despite the inevitable technical hitches) and, unlike many an act that are third on the bill, had most of the Carpe Diem punters up dancing and crowd surfing by the end of their set. All the favourites were there, Polly Piper, Mother’s Pride and You’re Gonna Pay along with new one I Will Not Forget You (dedicated to lost friends). We look forward to the new album that is set for release in the New Year.

Genre busters supreme King Prawn may have split in 2003, but their legacy is far reaching. The present crop of Ska/Punk/Hip Hop expo‐ nents such as Sonic Boom Six, The King Blues and Yorkshire’s own Random Hand can all thank the Londoners for their trailblazing influ‐ ence and we can now add China Shop Bull to the list. The Leeds 7‐piece’s musical armoury consists of sequencers, street rapper, metal heavy guitar, drum and bass, and brass section. It’s high energy stuff that cannot fail to have everyone going mental. The genre twists and turns within the space of one 5 minute song such as Sandblaster are mind blowing and exhilarating. One minute Ska, then Hip Hop, then Punk. Throw in a dose of Dub, reggae and a cover of The Prodigy’s Out Of Space and you realise you ain’t gonna pigeon hole these guys.

Just go with it. I can assure you, you’ll enjoy the ride.

South Californian Ska Punk legends Voodoo Glowskulls have been around for over 20 years and tonight’s gig is in direct competition with New Ska upstarts The King Blues appearing over at the Cockpit. With the supports for that gig being The Hydropaths and Random Hand both gigs were competing for the same audience. This gig, however was as full as it could have possibly been and a couple of members of The Hydropaths turned up to pay homage to their heroes. And heroes they are indeed, with drummer El Duce being pushed around in a wheelchair, then playing through the pain of a broken foot. For over an hour they raced through some classic Ska Punk, which, if I’m hon‐ est, sounded a bit dated in comparison to the likes of China Shop Bull. However, this mattered not one jot to those who had come to wor‐ ship at the feet of Frank Casillas and his cohorts. Musical mayhem on a hot, humid Monday night, made for a very enjoyable evening all told. Voodoo Glowskulls….. please call in to Leeds again soon. [OAP]

Mike Tv:‐ I need to be careful what I say here, knowing that our editor, Craig, quite likes Mike TV and their brand of pop‐punk.

Pop‐punk which features heavily on the pop and not very heavily on the punk. They seemed quite ourtof place between Girlfixer and Flatliners and this showed in the reaction from the crowd who didn't appear overly interested in what the band were up to on stage. Whilst they may have been able to build up an admirable, if not excessive, fan base dur‐ ing their extensive lifespan under this and previous names they do what they do well, yet not spectacularly this time around. Of course, to get a fair idea of what these guys are like onstage you can just check out their article in Issue one of SGM. There you can find their randomness rolled up into a nice little ball, then decide if you want to see their shows on one of their seemingly constant tours.

Flatliners:‐ Fresh off a slot on the Lock up stage at Leeds and Reading festival you might have thought the days of gigs with no barriers and crowds so close you can taste their sweat would be beyond the Flatlin‐ ers. However, you would've thought wrong as less than a week after their slots on a festival stage they went back to the underground venues similar to those in which they built up their fan base on both sides of the pond. With a different twist on the Reggae Punk scene that seems to produce too many 'same' bands currently then the set from the Flatlin‐ ers was a fresh revelation and a welcome surprise (I was too busy to ac‐ tually see them at Leeds). Bringing a quite subdued, half filled venue to life for an hour at a tme well past when half of Nottingham was safely asleep (except for the prostitutes the guys accidently parked their van by) the Flatliners kicked it up a notch straight away, then up about an‐ other 5 as the clocked ticked past midnight. The crowd showed no signs of letting up, and neither did the band, pulling off songs to keep the crowd moving up and down constantly, pausing only for banter

between songs.

If you like your music in short, sharp and energetic then chances are youll be a fan of the Flatliners. If you like it long winded and repetitive, then go to an N‐Dubz gig. [PH]

Here at SGM we do our best to bring you the best content that we can, however sometimes, with us being quite new and all that jazz, we have to do things the DIY way. Take this year’s Sonisphere Festival for example, we had a guy there, but he wasn’t just there for us. He was playing the role of a CAT. Anyway, when he wasn’t slaving around the campsite, he was checking out bands to report back for you lovely people. Here’s his Sonisphere diary...

Sonisphere is a festival new to the UK in 2009. Run by Killimangiro, the company that used to organise Download, and Monsters of Rock before this and have been running Sonisphere on the continent since its conception. In view of this festival pedigree you would be expecting a top notch line up and organisation. You would be expecting wrong. Whilst the bands present were good pulls, the line up never really flowed, and they had problems with bands pulling out all the way up to the festival, not drawing the good publicity they would be wanting. The organisation wasn't much better either. You could pay an extra £10 to arrive on the Thursday to, in theory, get the best camping spots near the arena. Only when you turned up the only campsites open were family camping and the campsites furthest away from the arena. Following this the next campsites weren't opened until gone 7pm, with several hundred festival goers getting angrier and angrier.

Alien Ant Farm If you're asking who right now, then click the red X in the top corner of your browser and go and buy their CD 'Anthology', or just go to youtbe and search for smooth criminal. Now, for those who know who I'm on about, this was perhaps one of the shocks of the weekend, with quite how entertaining they were on stage. The crowd may not have been fully appreciative of the songs that weren't played 5 years ago on their meteoric rise to cult stardom, yet the band pulled off their set brilliantly. With a new album out soon and the potential for another tour, if you have some spare change knocking around then crack out some dance moves and go and watch a fun little band.

Taking Back Sunday There's a reason the bar is always busy around the mid part of the day a festivals, and this band sums it up. Your token festival mid-line up band. Everyone knows their songs, but they've never quite had that one anthem to catapult them any higher. I probably don't need to tell anyone what they were like on stage, as anyone who's ever seen this band knows it will have been the usual tight performance, yet nothing overly spectacular. Overall they set the tone for the festival too, as the crowd again wasn't getting too involved and the band didn't deliver much interaction. Could do better.

Failsafe Finally, a band that display more energy than a lemming on antidepressants. An alternative five piece from Preston, Failsafe were a breath of fresh air in the polluted south. Ok, that might be a bit unfair, it's more a band that gets the crowd involved rather than playing their songs and then leaving. Maybe it's just because the crowd wanted to be there rather than yawning through the set until the one band they want to see comes on. Playing short songs with energy and actually looking pleased to be there Failsafe were the highlight of the saturday, and definitely a band to keep an eye on in the future. Although maybe on a slightly better line up.

The Used Back to infect our eardrums again is Bert McCracken and his band that are definitely not an emo band.....honest. Peddling out a traditional mix of old songs and new from their upcoming album (which seems to have evaded most people's knowledge). Whilst the music may not have been to too many peoples taste considering how heavy alot of the line up is for the rest of the weekend they were stil able to extract a small amount of life from a weekend long disappointing crowd. Thankfully my pain was ended early during their set, as they began to close on A Box of Sharp Objects my attention was taken by an alarming number of wasps, which were, in fairness, slightly more entertaining.

Bjorn Again Who? I hear ringing out from everybody reading. Well, basically they are an Abba tribute band. I told you the line up was pretty random, well Bjorn Again offered to cover Thin Lizzy following their late withdrawel. And if I said that they were one of the best bands of the weekend then people would probably just start keeling over and dieing. Yet the crowd actually started to move and there was even something resembling an atmosphere. While I don't claim to be an Abba expert, I'd say that they pulled off the songs as well as they pulled off covering Master of Puppets.....I did mention that earlier....didn't I?

Linkin Park Lets be honest, everyone knows who they are. Nu-metal pioneers turned 'political' band, and the band most people seemed to be waiting all day to see. To say that I was looking forward to this was an understatement, they were the only band I really wanted to see over the two days. And to say that I was underwhelmed come 11pm would be a bigger understatement. Whilst the songs still sounded good, there seemed to be a lack of effort, particularly on the part of Mike Shinoda, who seemed disinterested in displaying his varied musical talents. The set list was remarkably poor, with a distinct lack of Hybrid Theory, Papercut in particular missing from the set. And then the shower of shite that is Dead By Sunrise. If you haven't heard, Chester Bennington has a new side project, called Dead By Sunrise, and he thought bringing them on for a three song mini-set instead of the first encore would be a good idea. Hopefully he figured out it wasn't following the pretty much constant jeering for the entire set.

Overall, they'll have better days, but if you want to see them at their best then build a time machine and see them just after the release of Meteora, and before that Jay-Z shite.

The Nightlife A festival isn't all about the bands, there needs to be something to do at night, and I suppose you could play guitar hero, or do rock kareoke, or, well, sleep. No campsite DJs, no DJ at all actually. There was meant to be a cinema, but that never showed up.

This definitely didn't help the atmosphere, as the majority of people seemed to prefer sleep to playing guiar hero, god knows why

Limp Bizkit Yet another band that you would expect big things from. If you don't believe me, then check out the review in issue one from their download performance. After seeing that, I was looking forward to seeing how they could top it here. And the simple answer was, they couldn't. It seems whatever caused them to call it a day may have reared its head yet again, so I wouldnt hold your breath on seeing much of a new album. The effort in reeling out their songs wasn't there, even from frontman Fred Durst, who was on top form just six weeks prior at download, who seemed disinterested and couldn't wait to get off stage. Again, if you want to see Limp Bizkit at top form then get to work on that time machine, or just youtube their Download performance, it's on there somewhere.

Zebrahead I would have more bands to review here, but I was working for most of the sunday and missed the bands. As such, this was the last band I saw of the weekend, and it confirmed to me that the third stage in the tent was the place to go for atmosphere, and a good time. Under here a small crowd of real music fans gathered to have a fun time and try and destroy each other, before going to the bar straight after and enjoying a pint to cool down. But back to the band, there was everything I had wanted all weekend, crowd interaction and an atmosphere, although they stopped short of reproducing their Spice Girls cover thankfully. As far as bands to close a festival go, there's always a big band to see, but the fun times are always at the smaller stages.

The Verdict The majority of bands seemed disinterested in being there, the line up was random and often had no continuity, there was nothing to do at night and the organisation was woeful. It's obvious that the festival hasn't reached it's potential when you're leaving and there are no smouldering remains of tents and gazebos around you. Killamangiro must do better next year if they want to establish Sonisphere as a major rock festival.

The Blackout, The Guns, Middle Finger Salute Fibbers, York. 27/08/09

There’s something about gigs in York that seem so much different to gigs elsewhere. Maybe it’s that most gigs are for local bands due to the lack of larger venues, so it’s just a bit surreal when a ‘big’ band rolls into town.

The queues outside the 280 capacity Fibbers, which started at around 2pm, 5 and a half hours before the doors opened, shows that the kids in York aren’t used to seeing their favourite bands in town.

First up tonight were a young punk rock band from the North west by the name of Middle Finger Salute. They played their melodic punk really well, and for such a young looking band are surprisingly polished. They’ve already been making a stir in the UK punk scene, and look to expand further than that.

The same cannot be said for the somewhat dull The Guns though. Their set was just lacking something, it’s hard to say what that is, but they just didn’t have that ’edge.’

Not that it would have mattered either way by this point, Metallica could have been onstage and the kids in the audience wouldn’t care less. All they were bothered about is The Blackout, a point proven when the biggest cheer of The Guns set was the few minutes that they were joined onstage by Sean Smith.

Just seconds after The Guns left the stage, another Fib‐ bers rarity happened. A festival style ‘push towards the front’ was quite crushing, especially for those of us who were already pretty close. Fibbers isn’t a very big venue to start with, so the added carnage made for an uncom‐ fortable room between bands.

It was already obvious that The Blackout have one o f the most dedicated fanbases around at the minute, and it was made even clearer when they took to the stage.

The crowd in Fibbers went literally insane, jumping up and down, screaming, dancing, just general chaos. De‐ served chaos though. Having witnessed the band play live several times prior to this, I was already aware of their live show, however it seems Warped Tour may have made them into a much better , tighter live band.

Their set was incredibly tight, polished and generally everything you’d expect from a live band. Front men Sean and Gavin know exactly how to work their audi‐ ence, so getting the 280 people inside Fibbers eating out of the palms of their hands was an easy task for a band used to playing to a much bigger audience.

The Blackout are on top of their game right now, and like the album title suggests they really are The Best In Town.

For an extensive review of their set at Leeds Festival, plus 6 pages dedicated to them, and the chat SGM had with them at this gig at Fibbers, keep reading. It’s all in here.

[CS]

The Get‐Up Kids, Spy Catcher Manchester Academy 2. 8/08/09

With The Get‐Up Kids having been gone for several years, the nerdy masses are out in force tonight for the return of their awkward and overly sentimental heroes.

Their reformation is tonight hailed as the return of the true kings of heartfelt pop‐punk. Not even the fact that the queue is comprised largely of scenesters off to see Family Force Five can put a damper on the occasion. Be‐ fore we welcome TGUK, however, the impatient throng is greeted with the more aggressive prospect of Spy Catcher. Whilst they do a decent job of the whole gritty punk‐rock stuff, you can’t help but feel that the reason they’ve been handed such a support slot not even a year into their existence is because one of their members is also in Gallows (Stuart Gili‐Ross).

When the headliners take the stage, they instantly set the tone by dipping into choppy but charming debut al‐ bum ‘Four Minute Mile’ for a rendition of ‘Coming Clean’.

From there, the set is a mix‐and‐match, with plenty of love and attention for each album. Whether it be the nos‐ talgic romance of ‘Mass Pike’ or the grown‐up ‘On A Wire’, smiles never leave the faces of the band. Even though their years are starting to show, you can tell that they enjoy every minute of it tonight, and they sound as fresh and tight as ever. Their between‐song banter is genuine, if a little corny, which endears them even more to the fans. Clearly having every word sang right back at them is something that this band truly appreciates. Set highlights include a warm rendition of ‘Out of Reach’, a cover of The Cure’s classic ‘Close To Me’, and the airing of a new song, which goes down a treat. Having been a fan for almost ten years now, I can say without a hint of exaggeration that its great to have them back, and I can only hope that their shy smiles at audience cries of ‘new album!’ are an indication of more to come from a great band. [DT]

As with Sonishphere at the beginning of August, we had our writer Phil Hood at Leeds Festival doing it all DIY. No press passes or any of that nonsense, just a general spectator reporting back on some of the band’s he saw. And, as with Sonisphere, there were no fancy photos taken, just ones from his camera phone. So, that said, here’s some of Phil’s favourite bits...

Leeds 2009:‐ We all know what Leeds festival is about, the traditional summer ending event (screw the southern fairies and their Reading festival) where 70,000 people gather, get drunk and then some morons start some fires. And this year was no exception, except there were more morons (basically the Kings of Leon fans) and less real music fans, but more on that later. So can the pride of Yorkshire batter the pride of the southern pansies from Reading yet again? Or was it a dire showing from the selection of alternative acts?

Mad Caddies:‐ Oh, dear, god, how long have The Mad Caddies been around now? Well, wikipedia tells me it's since 1995, which whatever way you look at it, is one hell of a long time. Having been playing for 14 years, and probably playing well over 1000 shows then it is easy to understand why their set has progressed into such an entertaining show, yet diffi‐ cult to understand why they still appear so low on a bill.

It's difficult to say that The Mad Caddies play a definite brand of music, as they draw on so many different influ‐ ences, it's probably best just to say that their set list stuck to the ska/reggae/punk vari‐ ety. With talented band members, who can inter‐ change instruments mid song, you know you must have a talented band in your midst, a quality set, by a top band.

Polar Bear Club:‐ Personally it was the first time I had seen this New York alternative act, but had heard good things from the assorted bunch of alcoholics camping nearby, and I had nothing better to do at 2 in the afternoon, apart from drink. Afterwards, I think drinking might have been the better choice behind what to actually do, it truely was that bad. The crowd were divided between those that clearly love the band and everything they do, and those that went to see what they were like, and then wanted to kill themselves for doing so. Whilst the pieces of the songs flowed together brilliantly, but lead vocalist Jimmy was disappointing between songs. If you like their original release, Sometimes Things Just Disappear, then you'll probably like Chasing Hamburg, released 22 Spetember. If you like a band with a sense of variety then it might be best to check elsewhere.

A Wilhelm Scream:‐ Probably more of a lesser known band, hailing from Massachusetts, USA, A Wilhelm Scream play a mixture of hardcore punk mixed with sing‐a‐long lyrics and catchy mini‐solos. Songs normally time under three minutes and leave you asking for more afterwards, with vocalist Nuno Pereira captivating the audience with a surprisingly tal‐ ented range for such a band. Saying this their current set list is heavily weighted towards the more current en‐ tries in their discography, in particular Ruiner, with what can be considered their most popular songs coming from this album. If you have a spare few minutes obtain (read download/stream) Killing It, The King Is Dead and Me vs Morrisey then you nwill ahve a fair idea of what this band is about. Once you've done that then head on over to see them on a tour, tickets are generally easy to obtain, but you won't regret it.

The Prodigy:‐ Awful, awful, awful, and I know a few people here at SGM will be glad to read that, but let me explain. First of all, the sound quality at Leeds fest is usually awful, and this year was no exception. Also, this year had ALOT of absolute morons attending, and these people decided to, instead of enjoy the band, act like com‐ plete idiots and cause a crush at the front, causing the band to stop their set half way through until they stopped acting like twats. Another thing, why book a band who relies so heavily on a light show, and then ask them to play during daylight. Complete own goal by the organisers, therefore the awful rating is defi‐ nitely, at least half, if not entriely, belongs to them, not the band.

Frank Turner:‐ Yet another artist who has shot to fame on the crest of a wave in the past year.

Having spent the previous few years touring the back ends of every gig venue between the John O Groats and Lands End then it's perhaps unsurprising that he has enough fans to show up and pack out the NME stage, all the while having a faithful following occupy‐ ing the front of the stage singing every word. Whilst the majority of people in the tent may not have known every song they knew enough to make it seem like Frank Turner was the Pied Piper and everyone followed him along for the entire half hour. With new album Poetry of the Deed out now, and a tour booked for october, you could do alot worse then spending your hard earned to check him out.

Thursday:‐ A few years ago, this band was supporting My Chemi‐ cal Romance on their UK tour. Now they're opening for Rise Against. So what has changed you ask?

Fuck all. They're still shit, so stay away.

Brand New:‐ Yet another problem with a band suffering from the quite frankly awful sound quality of the leeds festival mains stage, although the set list may not have helped their cause. The set list seemed quite one paced, with the focus being more upon the slow songs which the Brand New Faithful were more famil‐ iar with.

Of course, the problem with such a set list at a festival is that it isn't always the die hard fans there to see them, and people want to see a performance, not a set list to please the person there who stalks the band across every continent. Consequently, despite the band pulling off the set list well, bar the sound quality, the overall performance could definitely have been better.

Rise Against:‐ Having released Appeal To Reason in late 2008 Rise Against seemed to have suddenly launched them‐ selves into the English market and have claimed them‐ selves many more fans, with their 2008 tour with Anti‐ Flag and Flobots(kill) selling extremely well. This time around Rise Against tended towards a more political, fast paced and electric setlist, choosing to omit their slower songs such as Hero of War and Swing Life Away in favour of State of the Union and Saviour.

Coming on stage to a political broadcast and attacking regimes across the globe has become a forte of this band, and Leeds was no exception, with short state‐ ments coming, in order for the band to make a point, as the crowd grabbed a breather. Lead vocalist Tim McIlrath chose not to display his vocal talent, quite dis‐ appointingly, as the setlist seemed to lack the usual rise and falls of a set in favour of building to a cres‐ cendo. Overall, while the setlist still contained some of the Rise Against anthems, the lack of variation was disappointing, almost as disappointing as a lack of an encore.

Metronomy:‐ Whilst they may have sounded promising during the intro perhaps the best way to sum up what I heard as I retreated to the silent goodness of my tent is 'My ears, my poor, bleeding ears.

The Living Daylights:‐ Just a quick mention for this Lincoln punk band who headlined the BBC introducing stage, and pulled in a hefty crowd. Arising out of the age of 'MCD', another popular Lincoln band, The Living Daylights have quickly grown throughout the region, even getting coverage on Look North (this is where you all say 'oooooooooh) Don't be surprised if you see this group heading for brighter things over the next year, they are a very ambitious group, and know how to work a crowd. Already boasting a healthy following around the east coast, and having toured Europe and sup‐ ported A Wilhelm Scream and The Flatliners they aren't afraid to play to varied crowds, nor big crowds.

Whilst they may not be headliners yet, keep an eye out for them, with independent record labels probably not far behind.

Gallows:‐ Upgraded from their headline slot on the Lock‐Up stage in 2008 to 3rd top band on the NME shows how much the band has progressed following the release of their sec‐ ond album, Grey Britain. Sporting a more political sound than before, as the Carter brothers and company begin to make their play as a top UK band, rather than yet an‐ other disappointing flop. Fresh off a stint on the Warped Tour Gallows claimed to be glad to be back, before launching into verbal assaults on the majority of Ameri‐ can Bands, and then moving on to blaming Yorkshire for the problems of Britain, an insult which seemed lost on the majority of the crowd.

Quite how many people vocalist Frank carter managed to insult in their hour long set is difficult to keep track of, but despite all this he managed to keep the crowd hooked and following his every word, right down to at‐ tempting to get the crowd to build a human pyramid. Al‐ though the highlight may have to be the wall of death, where one crazy festival goer decided to take position in the middle and begin to pray, before, I can only imagine, obtaining a fractured skull. Off on tour again in America later this year, expect to see Gallows back in 2010, with an even meaner attitude.

LostProphets:‐ Everyone knows what the band is about, ever since the debut album The Fake Sound of Progress back in 2000 launched them to cult status, before the success of Start Something propelled them to the top of many UK music fans rock charts.

Sporting a new drummer, and a band member down due to the imminent birth of his child then it would be easy to turn up expecting some rustiness from a band who must have only played live together a handful of times, and never on a stage this large. Being able to deliver both the old and new songs excellently (although certain songs were missed, especially original single The Fake Sound of Progres), in favour of newer, more well known songs, LostProphets were one of the surprises of the weekend. The crowd however, by this point, weren't a surprise, with pits turning into an excuse to punch each other, they weren't conveying the usual sense of safety in crowds. Whilst I can accept there is an element of danger, when people are just openly throwing punches in pits then it's clear the state of Britains youth have degenerated into a bunch of drooling simpletons.

Back on a positive, the new tracks off upcoming album The Betrayed (release scheduled January 2010) sound alot heavier and back toward the original sound expected from LostProphets, keep an eye open.

Sonic Boom Six:‐ This was one of my main concerns once I saw the completed line up. A band used to playing packed, yet tiny ven‐ ues throughout the country getting the opportunity to open the main stage at Leeds on Sunday, just before shock‐ ing badger look‐a‐likes Madina Lake. Needless to say, I had my doubts whether they were big enough, or good enough to pull off such a feat. Yet they were. Seemingly unphased by the enormity of the challenge they had in front of them they managed to energise a tired and hungover crowd into enjoying the first half an hour of their Sunday of dancing along. They managed to mix in a bit of dubstep along with ska and a spot of punk and reggae along the way, there's a reason they're considered the ska punk pioneers of the underground circuit at the minute.

With their success as a band as a whole, the highlight of the performance was being joined on stage by Random Hand vocalist Robin Leitch for A Long Cold Day In April showed the true dynamics of not only SB6, but also the Re‐ bel Alliance Records which they run.

Funeral For A Friend:‐ Now it may seem like Funeral get a lot of attention here at SGM, and well, in fairness, they do get a lot of attention, be‐ cause they always seem to be doing something. This time they treated the crowd to a short burst of new music from forth coming greatest hits release Your History Is Mine (review coming soon). After the new songs, which when played live sound surprisingly like the older EPs such as Seven Ways to Scream Your Name, they treated the crowd to what many would consider their greatest hits. While I did‐ n't want to bemoan the sound again, it did affect their set aswell, consequently they probably can't wait to get on tour in October and play in venues that aren't run by muppets.

Overall the set wasn't spectacular, but will definitely have pleased casual fans who aren't used to the usual high stan‐ dards of being able to hear.

The Aggrolites:‐ Now I'm not quite sure how to describe this band, fortu‐ nately, they did it for me. They play 'Dirty Reggae' and have a song to remind of that fact. For one band only the Lock Up tent was turned into a temporary dance tent as people had a good time instead of trying to crush each other. If I had to describe the set in one way it would be 'A Great Big Love In.' The crowd was probably bigger than they expected for the last date of their extensive tour, with the reliable British weather bringing a monsoon down on Bramham park yet even those who just wanted to stay dry enjoyed them to an extent. They may not be the most talented band on the bill, but they were one of the few that got a good crowd re‐ sponse, and for that, they deserve commending.

Here, I have my general rant. I would have seen more bands to go and see and review here, yet at Leeds there seems to be a tendancy to burn stuff on the last night, regardless of whos it is. Anyway, I got word of a fire near my tent, so I went and spent the next two hours carefully moving it away from the numerous groups of knuckle draggers walking around with gas canisters and lighters.

Anti‐Flag:‐ Yes, I dared leave my tent one last time, and I'm kind of glad I did, even though my tent died a death the morning after. Anti‐Flag have turned into entertainers more than political pioneers following their sell out to a major record label. Back and kicking it old school now they seemed to stop every song just to have a rant, or get a circle pit the size of the tent, one or the other, they didn't mind which. Unfortunately they concentrated on the new album, The People or the Gun, and consequently the song that got the best reaction was their cover of Should I Stay or Should I Go, originally by Joe Strummer. If you want to see a potential repeat then head along to the Eastpak Antidote Tour with Alexisonfire this October. Damn October is looking busy Now a quick two messages of thanks to two people who made this Leeds Festival hilarious.

1/ Poo Girl‐Thanks for getting stuck in the Long Drops 2/ The guy who complained about the noise‐Thanks for pointing out that the rave tent is open til 4 in the morning, next year, you won't be stupid enough to camp next to it, moron.

Hello Kris, and thank you for taking the time out to do this interview. There are four new tracks on the upcoming 'Your History is Mine' greatest hits cd, what can we expect from these new tracks?

I think people can expect something a little more in keeping with our earlier material. The songs are up-tempo and I think have the urgency and delivery of our earlier sound, I think having Gav in the band has introduced a new excitement into writing and it's really shone through.

Have you felt you had to change the sound of the band over the years in order to attract new fans?

To be honest I don't think its something we considered.

We've always said that you have to play music you believe in as you have to play it night after night and if you don't believe in it then people are going to see straight through it. It's not something which has sat well with our fans on certain occasions but its something we feel has always been important, is to be honest to ourselves and to the people who buy our records.

Is it difficult to appease both the Hardcore Funeral For a Friend fans, who have been around since 2001

as well as those who are new fans?

I think the people who've been with us since the start appreciate us for trying something different and that's why they've stuck by us with every decision we've made. I feel its harder to please the people who appreciate only one dimension of our sound as we're not a band who wants to churn out the same sound time and time again. As a musician I can think of nothing worse than not challenging yourself, and I think that when new people find our music they find it for that vey reasons and some will stick with us for it and some not.

Would you exchange your income for an entire year for your next single to reach UK number one?

It would be nice to have a number one but I don't think anyone anywhere right now could give up their income for a year, times are hard for everyone including musicians.

Also we've never been a band whose been that bothered as long as we can continue writing music we'll be happy. I think music is a need and even if we never sold a record again it's still something we'd all carry on with.

If you had the choice of touring with any band in his

tory, who would it be and why?

For me it would have to be Pantera as Dimebag Darrel is the reason I play in a band. I think if you asked us individually you'd get five different answers.

What are your general backstage routines before starting? and are there any superstitions?

We don't have many, we don't do group hugs or talks we just start getting vibed on going out to play maybe a beer never more than two, and definitely always use the toilet.

What is the one thing you couldn't live without whilst on tour?

I think food and water because nobody could live without it. But on a personal level I'd say my phone as its a lifeline to my wife and family without whom I'd be lost so.. I'd be lost without my phone.

Who has the worst fashion taste in the band?

I have to hold my hand up; I'm a fashion disaster piece. I hate shaving, having my hair cut and buying clothes so look no further than me.

You've supported for Iron Maiden and opened for Guns 'n' Roses, what was the reaction like from the fans of these two bands?

Not the best to be honest. They're legendary bands with huge fan bases who only care for them. So you're pretty much fighting a losing battle because every minute you play is a minute less that their fans are not seeing them.

However it was still a great experience to tour with Iron Maiden as I've been a fan since I was a small boy and the band and crew were so helpful and welcoming to us even though their fans were more difficult to win over.

Which festivals are the best to play at?

I've had a great time playing Reading and Leeds. I've enjoyed Download in the past but it's a bit cursed for me as we've played it three times and on two occasions I've ended up in hospital with members of my family so its a bit tainted for me. Other than that Warped Tour in America is always a blast and Soundwave in Australia was amazing.

Thanks, and all the best for the upcoming release Cheers

The music scene in the beautiful little city of York has never been the best, and is often overlooked by the bigger touring bands, often due to the lack of big venues the city has to offer. It’s no surprise then, to see crowds of excited teenage fans queuing outside the 280 capacity Fibbers hours before the doors open when Welsh rock band The Blackout pass through town.

Having strolled past the venue at around 2pm to see and already large queue, you have to say that The Blackout have got some loyal, if not obsessive fans. A point backed up further if you head around to the back of venue, there’s yet another crowd, anxiously waiting to catch a glimpse of one of the band members should they happen to nip out to the van for anything.

What’s even more surreal is the fact that while you expect this kind of behaviour from excitable

kids, nothing quite prepares you for seeing people old enough to be the band’s parents getting just as worked up. Upon first sight, you may have been forgiven for thinking the balding guy, probably in his late 30s, maybe even older, was one of the teens parents, but then you spot what he’s wearing. From the front, it’s a generic American style University football hoodie, but then you see the personalisation on the back. In sparkly red letters across the shoulders reads ‘The Blackout’, and beneath that is a huge print of singer Sean Smith’s face. Read back to the point where the fact that this guy is probably old enough to be Sean’s Dad and consider how irregular this is.

Fast forward around ten minutes and quite a surprise happens. Walking into the dressing room I’m greeted by Sean, “Nice to see you again, how are

you doing?”

A lot of bands who aren’t even as big as The Blackout yet, and have done half as much press, are far too stuck up to even try and remember the little people they spoke to back before they were “Famous.” Not The Blackout though, it’s clear that they’re a modest bunch, grateful for everything they’ve achieved and aren’t changing one bit, no matter how big they get. They could be playing Wembley arena for the third night in a row and you can bet your last pound that they’d still be exactly the same people as what they were five years ago when they were playing nothing more than pubs in South Wales. This is something which is surprising not because of how they act, but more how their peers do. Later in the night I struggled to get more than two words out of a local band in the audience whom I’d spoken to several times over the course of a few months last year, but that’s beyond the point.

“There’s a girl outside who messages me every

day on Facebook and Myspace, she’s a nutter” Sean explains, acknowledging how adoring some of The Blackout fans can be. “Nah, she’s harmless enough, she seems like a nice girl” Then the conversation steers toward another character waiting outside, the fellow with the personalised hoodie. “He came towards me and my brother thought he was a junkie going for me, so he was about to kick him in the face” Sean playfully explains, before turning to Gavin to explain the story further. “You know when you see those Tokyo 55 hoodies... He went ‘Look at this!’ and when he turned round he’d got The Blackout in a sparkly red font across the shoulders like a football thing, and instead of a number he’s got my head.!”

The reaction from his band mates is simple.

“Wow!” Following what seemed like an age talking about certain fan experiences, we begin to chat about the bands critics, particularly those who dismiss them as some shitty emo band after taking one look at Sean’s hair.

“They’re shallow. That’s probably why I kept it to be honest, to keep the shallow people away.” explains the singer while brushing his fringe to one side out of his eyes. “Think of any band, they’ve probably all got at least one member with a wacky hair cut in. Think of a band you like, go on, go!”

After being put on the spot by Sean, for some reason the only band in existence other than The Blackout who were sitting here with me that I could think of was Limp Bizkit. Foolish choice if at any point I was out to prove their theory wrong, due to the fact that I picked a band featuring one of the strangest men alive, Wes Borland.

“It is all make up though, you do know that?”

Bob pipes in. After a few more minutes laughing about Wes Borland and his peculiar choices of attire we began thinking of other bands with somewhat odd appearances. I thought back to the last time I’d spoken to this band, and remembered who they were supporting. “Nothing weird about Mindless Self Indulgence” I joked, which raised a laugh.

“Nope, nope. All normal blokes. Four top chaps”

Grins Sean. “I wont hear a bad word said about them fellas, Brian, Brian, Brian and Jimmy. One of them is the gay partner of him from My Chemical Romance” This is a prime example of how fun The Blackout are. They don't take themselves too seriously, something which could at some point land them in trouble should any music press take a disliking to them. At one point during the half an hour or so I was talking to them, Gavin commented “It’s cool to be playing smaller shows like this every now and again. It’s fun to have the kids literally in your face.”

A harmless comment it may seem, until Sean begins to mock him.

“Gavin blatantly just said he likes going down on children” It’s such as this that could get them into a dark place should the likes of Kerrang or NME decide to have a different flavour of the week and want to ruin a band, something which seems all too easy in the extremely fickle music industry these days. It’s also comments such as Sean

Warning Gavin not to be racist at the start of the interview that some journalists could take the wrong way.

You really do have to take The Blackout as they take themselves though, otherwise you might just hate them. You may think calling your album ‘The Best In Town’ is a bold, if not arrogant claim, especially by a band from the same scene as Lost Prophets and Funeral for a Friend.

Think again though. The Blackout set out to make the very best album they could, and have succeeded in doing so. It might sound bold, yes, but not if you read between the lines. After all the hard work the band put into making the best album they possibly could, giving it a title like ’Pretty decent but not quite as good as Liberation Transmission’ just doesn't seem fair.

The Best In Town are on a mission to conquer the music world, and are succeeding at a pace which you’d be forgiven for saying is surprising them as much as anyone else. Soon, when the Welsh music scene comes up in conversation, it’ll be Lost who? Sorry mate, never hear of them.

The Blackout on the other hand... [CS]

Brand New: Daisy Despite the overwhelming lack of self‐ promotion and press coverage, there is al‐ ways an oppressive air of expectation ema‐ nating from certain pockets of the alterna‐ tive community when news of new material from Brand New breaks. Having set the bar mighty high with mature second album ‘Deja Entendu’, it seems that the band can do no wrong. The icy atmosphere of third effort ‘The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me’ both alienated and haunted listeners, as it does on ‘Daisy’. And just as was the case with ‘The Devil and God…’, ‘Daisy’ is boundlessly creative, subtly affecting and never less than astonishing.

This is by no means an easy album to digest at first. Any listener would find it difficult to pick out the hooks or the engaging melo‐ dies the band usually manage to maintain even in their darkest moments. This fact is not helped by the inauspicious opening: a sample of an old piano ballad with a fal‐ setto‐voiced woman harping over the mu‐ sic. The sample trick is repeated several times on the album, with the band nodding firmly in the direction of the post‐modern and cut‐up method at times. However unusual and unappealing this all sounds, it’s wise to stick with this album, as it is on a par with Brand New’s finest moments.

The big difference for Brand New this time around lies in the dynamics of the majority of the tracks on show here.

Whereas listeners were greeted with mostly melancholic guitar melodies and mournful vocals on the majority of ‘The Devil and God…’, here the band are often bouncing back and forth between meandering clean tones and heavily‐distorted, spastic riffage accompanied by some impassioned and harrowing howls from Jesse Lacey. The droning ‘In A Jar’ is a shining example of the musical elements on show here, darting from a shimmering lead guitar melody to droning vocals, to frantic heaviness and back again. The spectre of Nirvana hangs over the album at times, with the band chanelling ’In Utero’’s unsettling vibe; mixing it with the moody sound the band has grown into over time. The comparisons to other bands ultimately fail, however, to capture the sound of the album. Brand New are a band known for their curve‐balls, and the demonic, country‐guitar twang of ‘Be Gone’ as well as lurching opener ‘Vices’ are unexpected, but the unexpected has come to be the expected for this enigmatic act. The mish‐ mash of styles is held together by several constants, not least the now typical lyrical content; addressing the bal‐ ances between universal forces and feelings, the shortcomings of self and others, as well as the great mystery of death. The other standout facet of this schizophrenic stew is the astonishing guitar work of Lacey and the album’s creative force Vin Accardi. From string‐bending aggression to mournful arpeggios, the two cover a lot of creative ground throughout, with an astonishing final flourish on ‘Bought A Bride’ being a highlight in terms of their fret‐ bothering.

This, along with their previous two releases, marks a band at the top of their game creatively. This time around, Brand New has produced an uncomfortable masterpiece; a tour de force in the ways of seamless song writing. The individual elements may contradict when kept apart, but in less than forty minutes, Brand New unites the most ex‐ treme points of alternative music; from grunge to emo, from punk rock to indie. Even if their tight‐lipped demean‐ our is becoming a source of frustration for a lot of fans, an album this good doesn't need promotion or comment.

Martin Wainwright: Identity

There’s no denying that there are few, if any, better acoustic acts in York at the minute than Martin Wainwright. His blend of acoustic music and Ameri‐ can pop‐punk blends fantastically, creating an upbeat sound that fills the room as well as any full band could.

Identity, his second release, the first being a demo last year, shows how he has developed as a solo artist in the last 12 months, with a selection of much better material, (even though there’s a couple of the same songs on there.)

His sound is now a lot fuller, something which can be easily spotted when comparing the older track, Magazine Style Smiles, to any of the newer re‐ cordings.

Magazine Style Smiles is a song well worth noting though, mainly due to the well observed, clever lyrics. It’s a song about the band that we’ve all seen before. The band who get their big break and forget all about who and what it was that got them there, some‐ thing which a certain band from the York scene should pay attention to. “The rules all seem to change, when they finally hit arena floors, they’ve forgotten what they got here for, the friends and fans who seemed so bright, fade into shadows under spotlights” Throughout the EP, Martin demonstrates an impressive vocal range, with Neon Genesis Evangelion a particular highlight. It’s a song which most listeners will make no sense of, as it is written about the Anime show of the same name, but while the lyrics are somewhat obscure, they flow well with the upbeat feel of the song, and the insanely catchy guitar riff.

Overall, if you’re a fan of pop‐punk in any form, from The Ataris to All Time Low, or The Starting Line to Blink 182, chances are that you’ll be suitably impressed by Martin Wainwright and his acoustic brand.

And what’s even better is that the EP costs just £1! Sounds like amazing value t start with, and it just get’s better when you work it out to just 16p per track!

The Used: Artwork

The Used's release, 'Artwork', may be their best yet. The Used were front‐ runners of the post hardcore genre back in the day, achieving Gold and plati‐ num statuses worldwide. This was achieved by a lot of hard work (and plenty of substance misuse). Their selection of diverse albums has brought in fans by the boat load, however, in recent years there has been a lot of negativity surrounding these musicians. There was no progression, no origi‐ nality in the music. They have just been stuck in a rut. The music needed a new lease of life.

This album is much heavier, darker, and a whole lot messier than their previ‐ ous releases, it has you hooked from beginning to end. The tracks contain some interesting angles (in some parts reminding me of the newer Aiden material). The guitars are clean and clear, and more subtlety can be heard in the lyrics. The vocalist Bert McCracken stated that the record is 'about coming to grips with how much you really hate yourself.' [Come on Bertie, the black eyeliner wearing, girls trouser wearing culture does not need any more encouragement] The album heralds the raw emotions of obsession, sadness, and anger. The aggression just flows out of the mate‐ rial, whilst still maintaining that kooky edge that is The Used. 'Blood on my hands' … well WOW! It is possibly the best opener to an album I have ever heard. Foot tapping and head nodding is instant and infectious. You can’t stop your self! Next thing you know you’ll be screaming the lyrics at the top of your lungs out of your bedroom window.

Oh, and Is it my imagination, or do they sound like they give a crap now?

McCracken brush with mortality in the wake of Heath Ledger’s accidental death in 2008 loosely inspired the track ‘Meant to Die’. It was written with the realisation of how easy it is to die when life is lived so recklessly in mind.

The line ‘I should have let you know I never meant to go. Sure I lost my mind, but I never really meant to die’ says it all.

‘Artwork’ is the album that the fans have been waiting for since the release of the second album 'In Love and Death' in 2004. Maybe it was the change of record label, or maybe it was the first album to be produced by Matt Squire [Panic at the Disco] instead of John Feldmann? But whatever the reason, it has prevented The Used succumbing to dark and dingy end they were quickly on course for. 'Artwork' has put The Used back on top.

Noah and the Whale: The First Days of Spring

After winning over critics with their charmingly twee debut album, Noah and the Whale have done the noble thing here in attempting to improve and mature rather than playing it safe. For the most part, their bravery pays off, not least one the string‐soaked balladry of ‘Our Window’ and the glee‐ ful, almost camp ‘Love Of an Orchestra’. Charlie Fink’s low, droning vocals have improved greatly here, and match the mostly glum mood of the re‐ cord; lyrically touching upon the fragile nature of love and relationships.

The clichéd subject matter is only ever tackled with grace and confidence, and although the album is a little depressing on the whole, this reviewer commends a bold attempt by this band to evolve. Overall, an excellent ef‐ fort and another step in the right direction. [DT] Destry: EP

Michelle Nolan, former member of superb indie‐pop act Straylight Run, decides to take her considerable vocal talents elsewhere, with somewhat mixed results. Whilst it is undeniable that the song writing is inventive and largely original, there just isn’t enough on display here to pin down their appeal. Blame it on the fact that this is largely a compilation of previous recordings, but it’s hard to get on board with the band’s sound. Pitched somewhere between Broadway show tunes and Death Cab For Cutie, this is certainly an intriguing and promising collection of tracks, and with the coherence promised by a full album, one can only hope the band can find themselves with the freedom afforded by 10+ tracks. [DT]

Arctic Monkeys: Humbug

What went wrong with the Arctic Monkeys? Four years ago they ex‐ ploded onto the scene with quirky lyrics, catchy riffs and all round pop‐ rock perfection. They were the band that would make jokes and get drunk during interviews, and generally have fun.

Fours years on, they’ve gone all grown up. Musically, the album isn’t that bad, but it’s lacking something very important. The reason Arctic Mon‐ keys stood out against the rest was their sense of humour and light heart‐ edness, something which appears to have completely gone.

The lyrics are much more mature now, long gone is the witty banter about nights out in Sheffield, falling out with your girlfriend and sending drunken text messages. Oh, how the mighty have fallen. [CS] InMe: Herald Moth

There’s no denying that InMe have had it rough for the last few years.

Their 3rd Album, Daydream Anonymous, despite getting great reviews from the press, sold very few copies, and the band almost dropped com‐ pletely off the radar, but guess what, InMe are back! And what better way to mark a return than by making the best album of your career?

The new album, Herald Moth looks set to put them back where they be‐ long, if not higher than before. The lead off single, ‘Single of the Weak’ is an incredibly catchy tongue in cheek dig at popular music, and features quite possibly THE catchiest chorus of 2009.

InMe have really hit back with this album, so I recommend that you got out and buy it at once! [CS]

Saosin: In Search of Solid Ground Saosin have always been a band to keep an eye on. Ever since they separated themselves from the mounds of a thousand Thursday sound‐alike bands with their ‘Translating the Name’ EP, they have gone from strength to strength.

After the departure of original vocalist, the superb Anthony Green, before the recording of their debut album, they were blessed with the iron‐throated Cove Reber: a man possessed with the kind of voice that could devastate en‐ tire cities.

It comes as a disappointment then, that he seems to have slammed on the brakes for this album. Throughout ‘In Search of Solid Ground’, fans of the band will find themselves screaming at their stereos, crying out for the kind of performance that made tracks like ‘Voices’ and It’s Far Better to Learn’ so bloody great. The lack of power also seems to flow over into the instrumenta‐ tion. The drumming doesn’t seem as incisive this time around, and the guitars just don’t seem to (for lack of a better word) rock as much.

That’s not to say that this is a bad album. Far from it. It’s a very solid effort on its own merits. Some of the tracks do blow your face off. ‘Why Can’t You See’ rattles along nicely with some excellent hooks, and Reber’s vocals do soar on ‘On My Own’, an undeniable highlight. But these fleeting moments of excellence do not disguise the fact that it feels like the band have taken a step backwards with this release. The choruses just don’t seem as massive this time around, and although the band have clearly found a sound they’re comfortable with, it could be suggested that they have become a little bit too comfortable. They have rested on their laurels with ‘In Search of Solid Ground’, which wouldn’t have been such a bad thing had the songs been as strong as they were on their debut. But the fact is: they’re not. So whilst the band will probably satisfy most with what is on show here, the whole thing just strikes as a surprisingly tame effort from a band who have previously delivered undeniably impassioned material. [DT] The Get Up Kids: Something to Write Home About (10th Anniversary Edition)

Ten years after its original release date, one of the most important pop‐punk albums of all time gets a deserved re‐release. Bands like Motion City Sound‐ track and Fall Out Boy owe their careers to the pioneering sound of TGUK, particularly this essential album. What strikes as impressive is the fact that the twelve tracks on show here still sound as fresh and as urgent as they did at the turn of the millennium. The opening double‐whammy of ‘Holiday’ and ‘Action and Action’ is strong enough to match that of any other release; the songs setting high expectations for what’s to come. What makes the album all the more impressive is that the momentum does not let up, even when the band takes their collective foot off the accelerator. Following up the aforementioned opening two tracks with the soppy and restrained ‘Valentine’ may seem like an early surprise, but once the quality of the track shines through, the decision is nothing less than a masterstroke. The album continues in a similar fashion, with storming tracks like the bouncy ‘Ten Min‐ utes’ sitting comfortably alongside introspective ballads, including anthemic album closer ‘I’ll Catch You’.

What really pushes this album from being ‘great’ to ‘essential’ is the sincerity with which the band deliver every note. The fact is, no other band in the world could get away with lyrics like ‘would you be my Valentine?’ without being relentlessly derided. The lyrical observations hit the mark every time thanks to Matt Pryor’s impassioned and rough delivery, and James Dewees’s subtle keyboard twiddling manages to blend beautifully into the album’s more sombre moments, not once detracting from any song.

With this re‐release comes the prospect of new material by a band that called it quits too soon. Although a small review like this one will never express how special this album is, the fact that it has been with me since my awkward teen years and has remained a firm favourite of mine to this day will give you some idea of how unique it is. Not many of us listen to the same music we did when we were thirteen, but this album demands exception. Along with this bona‐fide classic, you also get some sweet bonus material including interviews and some live footage. The bo‐ nus material is of no consequence really, because I’d buy this album if it came with a complimentary cock‐slap. A must‐buy. [DT]

Name one person harder than Batman!

Probably Batman’s mum, because someone needs to keep him in line... Wait, she’s dead... Batman’s foster mum, or Alfred!

Pirates vs Ninjas?

Definitely ninjas! Every time. Ninjas are way cooler, they can kill you with anything, literally, with like a pin or a glowstick!

Piranhas, Mindless Killers or Misunderstood?

They’re just misunderstood. They’re just hungry really. Can you blame them, if you dangle some meat in front of them they’re gonna eat it aren’t they? I dunno about you but if you dangled a Big Mac in front of me I’m probably going to eat it.

If you wake up tomorrow and for no explanation you’re a cyborg, how would you react?

I’d think that was the most amazing thing ever. I’d be like ‘look at myself, I’m frickin sweet!’ I wonder if I could punch through walls. That would be a really cool think to happen actually.

Once again, our good friends at spheremag.co.uk have provide us with some content from ‘the dark side.’ This time it’s a chat with J-Dog from censorship free rap-rockers Hollywood Undead.

If you happen to be unfamiliar with Hollywood Undead, they’re a rap/rock crossover band who would have fit in great with the early 2000s scene alongside the likes of Limp Bizkit, Linkin Park et al. They’re an amusing bunch, with lyrics such as “Everywhere I go, Bitches always know, That Charlie Scene has got a weenie that he like to show.” Intrigued? Then read on for Dom Smith’s chat with J-Dog. S] How was it at Download this year, you got a great response – what was the best moment for you?

J-D] It was amazing, they were chanting our name before we got on stage, we were the first band to open the main stage. I think that the best moment was my friend telling me how bad ass I looked on the video screen with my handlebar moustache, I had it only for that show.

S] Can you tell us about the experiences that led up to the creation of the fan favourite track, ‘Undead’ J-D] We were frustrated, our record wasn’t getting released. People were trying to censor us and our completed record was just sitting there so we just said, ‘Let’s make a song against everyone and say whatever we want.’ It’s all about saying F*ck to censorship basically

beginning of time. A lot of kids tell us our music changed them for the better or made them feel they can say or do what they really feel. That’s a good and positive thing.

S] Where does the inspiration come from for the more electronic and Industrial parts of your sound?

J-D] We all listen to that style of music, NIN are a big inspiration to everyone in the band. Working with Danny Lohner definitely inspired some of that. He’s a hero and a wacko.

S] You guys are big on theatrics, how will the concept of Hollywood Undead progress through the stage show over the next year – are there any exciting new ideas for that?

J-D] We have a bunch of ideas if we can get money for it, I want to put a set that looks like Los Angeles behind the drums and towards the end of the show I want to have it start falling apart like an earthquake but you’d need hydraulics for something like that. I’d be happy with just some extra lights because we don’t have much right now. Maybe a set of wings so we can zipline Da Kurlzz across the stage.

S] Now that you have dealt with a number of personal ideas on your debut, have you put some thought into what ideas will inspire the next record and how the sound will progress?

J-D] Our first album was written about everyday stuff. We’re still out doing the same stuff. Even though our band has more fame I still go to the same bars, hangout in the same alleys, it hasn’t changed any of us. I’d like to see our second S] If each member of the band could sit one record get darker then the first, bands have to person down for dinner to listen to your kinda progress or mature to stick around.

‘Swan Songs’ record, who would it be and why?

S] When can we expect you back over here, J-D] (laughs) Well, that would mean I would and do you have a message for some of have to walk around and find all six band mem- your friends in the UK? bers and ask them and get an explanation. That J-D] I think at the end of the year, though I’m would take over an hour. I don’t have the mojo not sure exactly. I don’t remember the city I was for that. But mine would be Eminem, I’d be curi- in last night so I get confused sometimes. For a ous to see how he liked it. We all would be, I message - you guys were awesome. I was surknow. prised how well we got embraced and all the love we got. It really made us want to go back, S] The sound amalgamates rap, electronics and I’m openly challenging some of the kids to and metal – it takes a lot of people back to drinking contests right now. mid-90s where a lot of “alternative kids” used music to vent frustrations and over- For more information visit the band’s Myspace come adversity – do you believe that these and website. ideas come across?

J-D] I feel our ideas and emotions come across.

Music has been an outlet for people since the www.myspace.com/hollywoodundead

Pop punk is a genre which is ridiculously over saturated these days. Every band sounds just like the last, and that band sounds like a shallow imitation of Blink 182.Every band sounds American, no matter where they come from.

What the genre really needs, is an original pop punk band that will stand out. Head over to Leeds then, and find Saving Time!, a young band that have just the thing which is missing

at the minute. Originality.

“Because we’re a pop-punk band everyone thinks they know what to expect” explains drummer Dean.

To a certain extent, everyone does know what to expect with pop punk, but Saving Time! Manage to break the boundaries with their sound. It’s amazing what you can do to pop punk by not singing in a dreadful American accent. Because of the over saturation of the genre, it’s certainly going to be interesting to see where

Bands you might not know yet... But should!

this band ends up.

“We would obviously like to make a living out of playing music, whether we manage it or not is irrelevant but we’re really enjoying what we’re doing at the moment, I see it as a journey rather than a destination” frontman Lee tells us.

It’s a good point, far too many bands set about ‘making it’ with blind ambition, not really paying attention to the experience of it all, and only focussing on the end goal. Saving Time! certainly

wont be found guilty of this.

They also wont be found guilty of hiding away and not caring about the bands that they’re sharing the stage with. When questioned on their favourite band that they’ve shared the stage with, the list seems endless. They clearly appreciate any band willing to get onstage and perform.

“We don’t look at a band and go ’they are shit,’ we’re really not judgemental. We appreciate any band for what they do” Glenn, the band’s bassist tells us.

“I’d really like to tour with Green Day, but I don't think they treat people that well” Lee explains, again backing up the fact that no matter what happens, Saving Time! wont be turning into rock star dicks.

So, if you’re a fan of pop punk,

and are starting to become tiresome of all the Blink 182 wannabes whining in a faux American accent, then Saving Time might well be the band for you.

Their debut album, That Time of the Month is due out in October, and you can check them out at www.myspace.com/savingtimeuk

Bands you might not know yet... But should!

If you’re a big fan of the delightful Frank Turner, then there’s a chance you might have come across these three lovely gentlemen at some point.

Having recently finished a UK tour together, Ben Marwood, Oxygen Thief and Jim Lockey are 3 of the country's finest acoustic acts at the moment.

They’ve just released a 3‐way split EP, entitled Exclamation at Asterisk Hash (!@*#), which features three tracks from each of them.

Of the three, Oxygen Thief plays at the loud‐ est, more brash end of the acoustic spectre, whereas Ben Marwood plays a more gentle, melodic style, with Jim Lockey sitting some‐ where between the two.

If you’re a fan of acoustic music at all, I can guarantee that at least one of these three promising artists will appeal to you.

Dont Let Paris Fool You are an acoustic duo from York/ Bradford. Their sound is an interesting and unique one, drawing influences from various ends of the musical spectrum, including folk and punk. Their myspace states that their influences come from bands as different as The Beautiful South and Against Me, which is another reason to check them out!

Head over to myspace.com/dontletparisfoolyoumusic for more info and some mp3s

Honeycomb Love are a sleazy rock n roll band from Leeds, naming the likes of Motley Crue and Guns n Roses amongst their list of influences. It works well for them too, as they’ve taken the sound made famous by the afore‐ mentioned bands, and added a distinctly modern edge, making them one of the most promising bands playing this type of music to emerge since... well, the 80s! Head over to www.myspace.com/honeycomblove for more info.

Bands you might not know yet... But should!

Apologies, I Have None are a two piece band from London, who have a melodic punk rock sound. For a band with just two members, a guitarist and a drummer, manage to make a surprisingly full, enjoyable sound without the need to add more members. You’ d think that it would be quite limiting playing rock music in a band with just two members, but that’s not how they see it.

“I've never felt limited with just having two of us in the band though, I liked the challenge of trying to work out what we could do between us with respect to our parts and how we played and guitar sounds. Obviously we were always lacking the potential for layered sections and bass lines but we worked around that when putting the songs together and I think in a way it helped us get better at what we were doing and separated us a bit from the fact there are a lot of bands that slip into sounding pretty similar “ explains guitarist Dan. They’re also a band of simple pleasures, which is a key thing in today’s industry. Not enough bands are happy with what they’ve got, but Apologies, I Have None are not the same. When questioned about the highlight of their ca‐ reer, supporting on of their favourite bands came up as a particular high point.

“The London Defience, Ohio gig was a pretty good highlight for me. I love that band and getting the opportunity to play the show was even better than getting a ticket and watching it. That night we also played bass and drums with PJ and Gaby as a 4 piece, so getting to play twice was a bonus. I remember it was pretty rowdy and we played well and there wasn't any downsides that show at all. “ Following a string of excellent reviews of their latest EP, Two Sticks + Six Strings, as well as praise from the NME, there seems to be no stopping the London 2 piece. If you’ve any sense, you’ll be jumping on the bandwagon straight away so you can be one of those who were fans before they were massive.

For more information, mp3s, blogs and tour dates visit www.myspace.com/apologiesihavenone and join the fun.

Feedback If you want to let us know your views on our magazine, something in the music world or just simply send a photo of you with someone famous that you want publishing, drop us a line at: contact@shatteredglassmedia.co.uk

To Contribute If you’re a photographer, writer or think you’re capable of interviewing bands, then we’d love to hear from you. Send us your name, age, where you’re from, a few of your favourite bands and an example of your work to craig@shatteredglassmedia.co.uk

Advertising We’re looking for more advertising within the magazine, so get in touch and we’ll see what we can work out. There’s a number of ways we can do it, be it a reasonable price or just a swap. We’ll advertise you if you advertise us and all that. Give Hayley a shout at hayley@shatteredglassmedia.co.uk

Bands We’re definitely looking for more bands to feature in these very pages, so if you want to get involved do get in touch. We’re up for sorting out interviews, re‐ viewing your albums and EP’s, and depending where you are we can try and get down to one of your gigs for a live review. Let us know at contact@shatteredglassmedia.co.uk

Gigs If you’re looking for a gig in Leeds or York, then we might be able to help you.

We put on a few events locally. Send us a bit of info about your band, a myspace link and how many people you think you can bring in to a gig and we’ll go from there.

Also, if you’re wanting to head down to one of our gigs to review or photograph it for another publication, be it a magazine, website or whatever, let us know and we’ll gladly sort you out a spot on the guest list, as long as we get some links once it’s available so we can see it. Email: craig@shatteredglassmedia.co.uk

Other We can help out with any other enquiries using any of the above email ad‐ dresses. We’re also on all the usual social networking sites. Fan/Follow/Add us at:

www.myspace.com/shatteredglassuk www.twitter.com/sgmedia.co.uk or search for Shattered Glass Media on Facebook

Editor Craig Slaney

Graphic Design/Page Layout Craig Slaney

Writers Latest News: Craig Slaney Favourite Albums: Matthew ‘Smell’ Keeley Breed 77 Interview: Hayley Herrick Live Reviews: Phil Hood, Paul Hannah (OriginalAgePunk), David Tatlow & Craig Slaney Funeral for a Friend Interview: Phil Hood The Blackout Article: Craig Slaney Album Reviews: David Tatlow, Craig Slaney & Hayley Herrick Martin Wainwright Interview: Craig Slaney & Andrew Arrowsmith Hollywood Undead Interview: Dominic Smith Saving Time Interview/Article: Craig Slaney Oxygen Thief, Ben Marwood + Jim Lockey article: Craig Slaney Dont Let Paris Fool You & Honeycomb Love articles: Craig Slaney Apologies, I Have None Article: Craig Slaney

Photographers Latest News: Generic Press Shots Favourite Albums: Robyn Henderson Breed 77: Press Shot Kendal Calling: Paul Hannah (OriginalAgePunk) VooDoo Glowskulls: Simon Moss Flatliners, Leeds & Sonisphere: Phil Hood FFAF: Press Shot The Blackout: Hayley Herrick & Lucy Wood Martin Wainwright: Jenni Marshall Hollywood Undead: Press Shots Saving Time: Hayley Herrick & Craig Slaney Oxygen Thief, Ben Marwood + Jim Lockey: Taken from their Myspaces Dont Let Paris Fool You: Taken from band’s myspace Apologies I Have None: Taken from band’s myspace

Advertisements All adverts were chosen by the editor of the magazine based on what we wanted to adver‐ tise. See left for how to get your advert in here.

Special Thanks Everyone at SGM would like to thank all the band’s we’ve spoken to in order to make this magazine possible, you for reading and all the management and PR companies for being so helpful, especially:

Owen @ Hero PR, Sphere Magazine, Comply or Die, Saving Time, The Basement, York, Robyn Henderson, Acid Drop and Hayley @ Little Press