Issue 38 - July 2015
Introducing
plus Nothing But Thieves, Bluetones, Skindred, New Model Army, The Damned, Fourfits, Amorettes, Chinese Missy, LTNT, Malefice, Funeral For a Friend, The Lounge Kittens, H.E.A.T., Dumbjaw, Cattle Decapitation, Gun, Voodoo Vegas, Walkway, Gay Pride Ibiza, Boylesque, BST Hyde Park, Download...
ON THIS ISSUE: P 03: THE JACQUES Interviews with Finn, Jake and Ollie Jacque by Cristina Massei P 8: NOTHING BUT THIEVES Interview by Cristina Massei
P 53: CHINESE MISSY Interview by Cristina Massei P 58: THE FOURFITS Interview by Mark Fletcher P 60: GUN Interview by Mark Fletcher
P 16: THE BLUETONES Interview with Mark Morriss by C. Massei P 62: VOODOO VEGAS Interview by Mark Fletcher P 24: NEW MODEL ARMY Interview with Justin Sullivan by J. Morgan P 64: MALEFICE Interview with James & Andy by M. Dawson P 30: FUNERAL FOR A FRIEND Interview with G. Burrough by M. Dawson P 66: WALKWAY Interview by Mark Fletcher P 32: SKINDRED Interview with Benji Webbe by C Massei P 68: THE DAMNED: Don't You
Wish That We Were Dead
P 36: H.E.A.T. Feature by J. Morgan & C. Massei Interview with Erik & Crash by M. Dawson P 74: GAY PRIDE IBIZA P 38: THE LOUNGE KITTENS Feature by Nelly Loriaux Interview with Timia by Dawson & Higgs P 76: THE GOLDEN AGE OF P 42: THE AMORETTES BURLESQUE presents BOYLESQUE Interview by Mark Fletcher Feature by Sophia Disgrace P 48: DUMBJAW Interview by Mark Fletcher
P 74: DOWNLOAD FESTIVAL Review by Matt Dawson
P 50: CATTLE DECAPITATION P 74: BST HYDE PARK Interview with Travis Ryan by M.Dawson Review by Cristina Massei
SONIC SHOCKS TEAM Editor in Chief & Creative Director CRISTINA MASSEI
Front page photo credit Cristina Massei
Associate Editors MATT DAWSON & NELLY LORIAUX US Correspondent DENISE BRITT
Other contributors on this issue: Sophia Disgrace, John Morgan, Mark Fletcher,
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Interview and photos by Cristina Massei
I meet The Jacques at the Sebright Arms, sitting outside with fans, friends and family coming all the way from Bristol to see them play this intimate warm up show. Enjoying a cold one on this drizzly summer afternoon, I wonder how they even got their drinks: babyfaced frontman Finn looks between 14 and 17 - although he’s actually 19 - and I wouldn’t serve Jake and Ollie any alcohol either without ID. The promising four piece is made of two sets of brothers: Finn and drummer Elliott (the youngest), guitarist Jake and bassist Ollie. Legend has it that Libertines’ Gary Powell was captured by The Jacques like a sailor by sirens, as he walked past them performing at BST Hyde Park last year to a 2000 strong crowd; the boys have a slightly different story. The bottom line, however, is that they were signed on Gary’s new label 25 Hours Convenience Store pretty much on the spot, and things have been rapidly taking off from there. Comparisons for Finn’s voice and style have been coming fast and thick like Tories’ budget cuts - Doherty, Paul Weller, Ray Davies and more - but you only need to listen to upcoming EP ‘The Artful Dodger’ (out on July 14th) to know that the boy is one of a kind. The whole band’s blooming talent is supported by adolescent-sized energy and enthusiasm. And not only they’re the right band, they’ve got the right songs too, so watch this space and remember the name… As we go to print, The Jacques are back from their official Glastonbury christening and getting ready for more shows. With the freshness of young men and the wisdom of grown ups, the Bristol brothers have their mind clearly set to go all the way: can they be stopped? Hopefully not. Two sets of brothers… Is music something that runs in the family? Jake: Finn’s parents have worked in the music industry their whole lives but were not musicians. Ours were. What was the first album you stole from your parents collection? Jake: Probably David Bowie - Hunky Dory, or maybe Underworld or Leftfield, my mum was into a lot of trance. Ollie: Alanis Morissette – Jagged Little Pill Finn: I remember stealing a De La Soul album – 3 Feet High And Rising First album you bought? Jake: Red Hot Chilli Peppers – By The Way Ollie: I’ve got two – Spice Girls and Dark Side Of The Moon! It came free with Dark Side of The Moon, was vinyl and I didn’t even have a vinyl player, I just wanted it to stick on my wall! Finn: I remember buying my first record when I was much older and that was Up The Bracket
Let’s go back to last year when you were at Hyde Park – playing to quite a big crowd. Finn: The biggest crowd we’ve ever played to. Gary Powell passes by and signs you straight away…? Ollie: Yeah… Jake: It’s all been a bit distorted. What’s the real story then? Jake: Finn met Gary backstage and happened to have a CD and some promo stuff. Finn: To be honest I met him as a fan because I thought that’s The Libertines, I’m going to go and say hi and I had a CD so I gave it to him. Jake: I don’t think he actually saw us play there in all fairness, although he’s seen us play now. Finn: Maybe he did, I’ve got no idea! We were more worried about playing to the other 2000 there! Jake: Elliot was fifteen at the time! Ollie: We were really expecting just a festival gig. A hundred people if we were lucky. At the start it was like a hundred people and then within three songs we had two/three thousand! Finn: I know this isn’t very romantic but we were by loads of food vans and people would just stop to get something to eat, hear us and go like ’Oh, this is quite cool, I’ll watch it.’ I think that might have been a factor. So your advice for new bands is try to play next to the food vans at festivals. Any other words of wisdom? Jake: Get a manager’s the best advice. Ollie: Don’t pretend you can do it yourself. Jake: All bands say they do it themselves and they never make any money, get a manager because they get you gigs. Ollie: WE don’t make any money. Jake: Of course, not yet! So is it your ambition to make it a full time thing? Jake: I’d love to make it my career, it’s my dream since I was a child so… I live and breathe guitar. How important has it been working with Gary Powell? Ollie: It’s been a honour. Finn: Meeting someone like that is very special. Jake: First time I met him, I saw him as a normal guy and I was like that’s my favourite guy in the world right there, now we’re on a first name basis! Ollie: The music business is a strange thing! It’s a very small world. You’re Libertines fans as well. Finn: Massively. Jake: I’m very scared about the new album because they could ruin it but at the same time it could be great. They’ve got a really good producer. Gary sent me an email and he was really excited so… So who’s the future Pete amongst you? Jake & Ollie: Finn! [all laugh] Finn: My mum wouldn’t really like to hear that! Jake: We’re not comparable I don’t think. Finn: You have to start from somewhere don’t you, and that was the band we grew up with, if we were in the eighties it would have been someone else. You start from there and you find out who The Jacques are, and that’s what we’re doing. Who’s the song writer in the band? Finn: A bit joint. Jake: All the old stuff would be Finn as well as three on the new EP, then I’ve started writing some new stuff because I’ve only been playing with these guys for the past year. Ollie: We’ve only really become The Jacques in the last year, I mean we used to play as kids. Jake: You two played together for a few years before that, and then I’m a song writer as well so I started writing too; Ollie kind of fixes the songs! What’s the inspiration for your writing? Finn: Lyrics wise it’s quite allegorical and references lots of films, literature and so on, I don’t realise I’m doing it then you come out with an EP that’s got lots of references by authors and stuff. Jake: It’s really easy to make loads of tracks about love and I think it’s about writing about something that actually matters to you.
"...we were by loads of food vans and people would just stop to get something to eat, hear us and go like ’Oh, this is quite cool, I’ll watch it.’ I think that might have been a factor."
Ollie: I like writing about people I know and stories. Finn: Also language I find really interesting – putting nice words together as if it was visual. You [Jake} said it’s been your dream, but it sounds like you’ve all been thinking about this for quite a while. Finn: I started doing it when I was about seven, I came up with loads of shit for nine years then just started writing which is how I think you should do it, it’s a good way to do it. Do you listen back to any of your early stuff? Finn: No I would not dare to do that! Jake: Me and Ollie used to be in a band together, I was listening to it the other day – so embarrassing, it really is, but everyone’s got to start somewhere! Do you ever think that say at 40 you’ll feel like that about what you’re writing now? Ollie: Probably! [laugh] Finn: I hope not because if you’re nineteen you’re probably at the start of what’s going to be your style. It’ll probably bring back some nice thoughts actually. but I don’t know, maybe I won’t listen to it. Ollie: We talked about the new Libertines album a lot and hoping they’ll keep that Libertines sound… Jake: They’ve got Ed Sheeran’s producer. It could be very different! Ollie; It could be commercially viable which isn’t a bad thing! Your sound has been described in a lot of different ways – I’m not going to ask you to define yourself BUT out of all you’ve been given, what’s your favourite? Finn: I like the recent reviews that haven’t compared us to The Libertines. I guess ‘Britpop‘ is quite nice.
Jake: I quite like ‘indie grunge’, the new stuff’s a lot grungier. Ollie: We were talking to Danny Fields, the manager of The Ramones the other day – name drop right there! – he was saying it’s more about not giving yourself a label/genre and ten years time when it’s happened people will go ‘That’s the whatever era’… Jake: You might create a genre, you know. Just play what comes naturally. Finn: If you say pop then it can be fucking anything: Nirvana, Britney Spears, anything. Saying pop is kind of taking the piss out of the person asking the question because you don’t know any more, do you? Can be anything! Ollie: We’re pop! [all laugh] Fine by me! You have released 2 EP Pretty DJ and The Artful Dodger. Where can we find them? Finn: iTunes because then we get paid for it! Jake: Or www.thejacques.co.uk Next, you guys are also playing Isle of Wight and Glastonbury… Jake: I can’t wait! We’re leaving for the Isle of Wight tonight! And Glastonbury in a couple of weeks! How does it feel playing such a legendary festival at your age? Ollie: I love it! Finn: We’re playing 2 shows at Glastonbury and on the second I reckon we’ll get a bit nervous; cause I haven’t been nervous since Hyde Park last year. It’s the big ones, you kind of realise all of this is actually happening. It’s really exciting though. How do you fight the nerves? Finn: Well, we don’t really Ollie: Dance around as much as possible! [laughs] It’s kind of a ritual to have a few beers before we go on stage really Finn: As soon as you start playing it’s usually fine especially for a band like ours; at Hyde Park I got very nervous before and I didn’t know how to cope with it ‘cause I hadn’t been nervous since I was like ten, then as soon as you start playing the songs it’s fine. Jake: We just do what we do no matter where we’re playing to be honest. I don’t pay that much attention, I’m too busy spinning around and jumping up and down! Finn: Yeah, Jake’s got a degree in acrobatics! I suppose you have more than the two EPs worth of material to fill your live set? Jake: We’ve got stuff we’re not playing at the moment basically we don’t feel it’s ready. We’re very fastidious about our music and Finn: The Ramones manager said the first time he saw them they played for seventeen minutes, and that’s my explanation for us! Ollie: Leave them wanting more! Album due soon? Jake: Next year. Finn: We’re writing it now basically. Jake: We want to record it in December but to be honest we’re not going to rush anything so it could be two years, we really don’t want to mess this up. Ollie: It will be such an important step in our career. It has to be a record we’re happy with. Finn: It’s scary actually, we got told we’re going to have to start writing it now which is a massive shock because in my head it was like, leave it a few years. Jake: Very scary! Good luck with that, I’m sure it will be great whatever long it takes! Any final message to our readers? Come and check us out, we want more people at gigs! If you missed The Jacques at Isle of Wight and Glasto - or you saw them and now you need more - you can catch them this month at 4th: Skittles Alley - Bath 10th: Cornbury Music Festival - the Great Tew Park, Oxfordshire 14th: Fête de Le Jacque - on a boat in Bristol celebrating The Artful Dodger 18th: Godney Gathering - Somerset 24th: Secret Garden Party - Cambridgeshire To keep an eye on The Jacques, head to https://www.facebook.com/TheJacquesBand
Interview and photos
by Cristina Massei
On my way to Kensington, I check my tweets: “#NBThieves are having a power outage & asked me to send this” - shot of unidentified planet follows. Rather confused, I show my phone to the Nothing But Thieves guys as we meet at the RCA headquarters. Phil: That here [points to the tweet] – that’s a little hint towards something… Conor: A 25% hint… It’s about the new single ‘Trip Switch’, we have an announcement tomorrow. Phil: It was picked by Annie Mac as ‘Hottest Record In The World’ before it even came out! Joe: Bit of a fan favourite this song. Conor: And it’s cool, you see people sing along to it and we haven’t released it yet which is a good sign. One thing that stood out to me from your bio was your trip to the USA ‘to get some inspiration’: most English bands go to the US at the end – it’s an aspiration – and you guys started from there? Phil: We started backwards, we didn’t actually thought ‘you go at the end’, we just thought ‘you go at some point’! Conor: It’s pretty simple really, we have our managers out there. We just got started, we’d been writing in a garage for a year solid and we hit a brick wall. We went out there to meet a load
of friends, producers and just get a new flavour on how to write and we came back and wrote the EP. Phil: It was really interesting – we learned at the end of the trip how different the writing process can be in each State and city. We were lucky enough to go to LA, Nashville and New York and they were really quite varied on how they focus on writing, how they produced things, how they looked at songs in general. We always looked at it the same way so it opened up a lot of gateways for the song writing process and how we approach it. You’ve done LA, Nashville and New York – which one did you find that was more inspiring towards your sound? Joe: New York seemed to suit us, Nashville definitely didn’t. Conor: What Nashville did teach us is that they have a formula and set structures for songwriting and once you know those structures you can tear them apart or put them back in, so it’s good in that sense of how to work a song. Phil: Whereas New York were about the creative side of things, all about trying something new. Conor: Exactly, it’s the complete opposite and it works to put them together. Joe: So for us to be exposed to both of those approaches we’re like ‘OK, we can now do our own thing, take what we want from each and hopefully form a new sound.’ Basically Nashville gives you a song that ‘works’ and New York makes it yours… Joe: I’d say Nashville is very structured, formulaic, they’ve got their own way of doing things and some people love that and just follow those rules, but we don’t play by the rules [laughs]. Conor: It’s not like we went and took songs from there; we came home and we’d taken all these different ideas of how to do a song, then used them with what WE wanted to do. What did you get from LA? Pop, Pop, more pop and a bit more Pop. Oh god, really? It is what it is and they’re all about charts… Dom: That’s not necessarily true actually, we met a guy that produced the last few Bruce Springsteen albums (Brendan O’Brien) and he is an absolute genius, he was incredible – taught us a lot about lyrics. That’s what I got most from LA. There is a lot of pop out there that didn’t really suit us so much. A lot of the stuff from there was about what NOT to do. Phil: It was a process of elimination – probably won’t do that but we do like this. It’s good anyway – a journey of self discovery. The best thing was we got out of the rut we were in song writing wise, we agree we had hit a wall and just travelling in a new environment helped us get inspiration again.
"Now we’d learned to write songs again, we had to find the sound of what we actually wanted to make. We had our ideas..."
So you come back inspired – who do you think you are now as a band? Now we’d learned to write songs again, we had to find the sound of what we actually wanted to make. We had our ideas but it was really hard to get them down in song form; once we’d learned the techniques, we took the song inspiration in our heads, used the techniques and wrote the EP pretty much. We came back and wrote four songs – that was the first EP we released. So, it’s not just about picking up a guitar… Dom: We’re constantly learning, we’ve actually put down the guitar almost to learn how to write songs. Conor: You guys didn’t pick up a guitar for ages! Phil: I think we basically regressed as musicians! But it was good for us, we were musicians from the start but that’s not the same as a song writer, and I think before we dived into the world we didn’t really realise what the difference was. You think because you’re good at your instrument you’ll be good at writing songs. We’ve met songwriters that can’t play an instrument properly but they still write songs; that was the moment we realised you don’t need to be at the top of your game with your instrument, you actually have to put it away sometimes. We don’t particularly play anything that’s challenging I suppose. Conor’s the one that’s got the real challenge, he’s always pushing himself. We’re lucky enough that our parts are quite simple. Joe: Maybe we’re just really good! [laughs] And here we are at Sony HQ… Signing with RCA, was that the plan? Conor: It’s nice, that was the beauty of it really, we’re just doing our own thing for a year and a half in the garage and stuff, we weren’t worried about the future – getting signed and stuff – so it actually made the writing and everything we did quite free and fun, we got picked up by a publisher at first then by the label. Joe : Because we spent so long doing our writing and really honing the sound and what we were trying create as a whole entity: we made a video, we had the artwork. The label just saw the whole thing which is why we were drawn to RCA: they weren’t trying to mould us into something else, they got the whole project. Phil: They trust us, that’s why we went with RCA, there was an element of ‘you know what you’re doing, what you want and how you want to be seen’, like Joe says it’s one entity, it’s one package across the board. The confidence from the label made us happy to work with them. Did RCA come through before or after the America adventure? Conor: Way after. Joe: We weren’t really looking for labels, they came earlier than expected. Self released EP, did some touring. Phil: We were going to do another EP at some point and keep writing. Radio 1 picked us up way before, we released Emergency and within a hour we got contacted by Radio 1 saying they wanted to play it. Zane Lowe to be precise… Phil: You’re not going to say no to that attention, that’s when the pace started picking up. What’s the main difference you’ve seen since being signed from self releasing? Conor: You have these people doing odd jobs for you that you all do by yourself. We have a marketing digital team that do the online stuff. Phil: Some think that you’re signed to a label and it all just happens: that’s not how it works especially for us. We had everything in place and we just needed that extra lift, all these financial things like digital marketing help you with the things you can’t quite do yourself. Conor: Nothing’s really changed, it’s still the exact same band with an extra boost underneath.
You just came back from the Isle Of Wight – how did that go? Joe: That was our first main stage performance, so many more people than we thought! I had a look on your social networks, you’ve got a really good fanbase! Joe: Having said that we have toured solidly this year, six: 3 UK, 2 Europe. I feel we’re doing it the right way. Phil: It’s pretty nonstop, we’ve found our fans will stick with us, they’re good to us. This last tour we did was the first one that sold out. Conor: We didn’t expect anyone to come out to this tour after supporting Darlia. Phil: They were like 200-250 cap venues and having them all sold out was just insane! What kind of band are you backstage, the sex drugs and rock’n’roll types or more yoga and fruit juice? [they all laugh and look at Connor]: He’s the yoga one! Conor: We’re split! Honestly, I wish I could get on it like these two! Joe: We’ll have a break of a day… Phil: No, DURING the day is the break! Joe: We don’t drink for breakfast obviously! Phil: Honestly it’s not like we’re mental, trash our dressing rooms and do lines of coke but we’ll have a few drinks. To be honest even the glorious 80s years of sex, drugs and rock and roll a lot of people were faking it… Conor: Of course! Joe: We work really hard and play really hard, that’s all we can fairly say about it all really. Phil: If it ever affected the work we’d cut back, but it’s hard because you’re constantly with your best mates! All one big party… It’s that sort of environment@ Conor: Before the show you put the music on, have a few beers, after the music is on, a few more beers, show went well, let’s drink to it… And this is just me, who doesn’t drink! Imagine these guys… Did you ever managed to get them to do yoga? Conor: No but I did get them to do one breathing exercise once! Phil: Inflate the lungs…! It was good! How are you guys live? Conor: Not to sound arrogant but we’re a good live band and we take pride in it, and we’re always going to get better like every band does. Dom: Let’s be honest, it took ages to arrange a song and learn to play it as a group, it took a while for that kind of chemistry to come together, but because we’ve been gigging we all know what we’re doing, we know what we should sound like and who’s gonna do what, nothing’s out of place… Not in the sense of being too rehearsed, but at least we’re all on the same page. Don’t get me wrong, we still run into each other! Conor: On purpose! [laughs] We just need to get used to these big stages like at festivals. Joe: There’s a video for Isle Of Wight up right? If you look at our leads, the ones going from the pedals to the amps, they’re so taut! Phil: The stages we normally play are the size of this table! It must be nice having all this space… Phil: We’ll find a way to deal with it! Conor: But we’re a good live band. There’s still things to improve, attention to detail sort of thing. I hear your next London gig has been upgraded to The Dome as well.
Conor: We had Boston Music Rooms and in ten to fifteen minutes we were told to upgrade because we’d sold out! Joe: How great is that? We’d never thought that would happen! Dom : Last time we were in London we were at the Barfly which is obviously amazing for us, but to go up to venue which is 600 cap that’s really nice, means people are paying attention. What’s after the Dome? Joe: Reading and Leeds, come on! We’re all quite excited about that one. Dom: Radio 1/NME stage. Reading was mine and Phil’s festival as kids so to play it will be a moment for us. Joe: There’s bands we love such as Slaves, Wolf Alice, Catfish And The Bottlemen playing with us so it’s amazing to be included in that world but humbling as well. Dom: I feel Reading has moved into more of a pop world but I get why, we’re suited for the day we’re on. The nice thing for me with Reading is everything’s so close. I discover a lot of new bands because of it. Which one of your songs do you think would better appeal to the casual passer-by? Conor: We have a song called If I Get High. Joe: Generally the best song I think we’ve written. Conor: It captures a moment, and you see it, when they start to understand the band. Phil: It’s the best suited song for Conor’s voice, it really does capture what he’s about as a singer. Dom: Our sound is very eclectic. Sometimes it takes some time for a new fan to see what we’re trying to do, but when they get the soul of that song it’s a turning point.
When is the album coming out? Conor: Autumn time. We started recording it last summer. Are you excited about how it’s gonna score in the charts? Joe: We’re not worried about that, if you’re writing an album for that you’re doing it for the wrong reasons. Our fan base have been asking for the album for SO long and it’ll be a relief for us to give it to them. Phil: We wanted it out earlier but we were going back to the studio wanting to get it right.
Conor: It’s funny as well, we changed as ‘artists’ because it took so long to record, and we’ve developed since we started writing 2/3 years ago, so it’s a case of leaving that body there otherwise we’ll keep going on top of it. We’re really proud of it. Dom: We started thinking about the second album three months ago! Phil: Towards the end of this album you can hear how we’ve changed and where we could be going. Conor: I’m a different singer now from when I did the first note on the album and each individually as a player have probably developed and changed now. Looking forward to it. You’ve done a cover as well that was featured on the Vikings series… Dom: Holding Out For A Hero. Joe: We just thought we could do something with this song, but when you tell people you doing it you get a weird look! [laughs] Dom: That was fun. Conor: We got asked during the day, we did it in a hour! The original could be quite entertaining after a few drinks… Phil: With our version you’d probably be wallowing in a cold bar! [All laugh] The fact Vikings used it has put us on an amazing platform for new fans to hear it. Conor: Jim Steinman facebooked it and said love this version! If you had to write a song for any other series which would it be? Conor: Game Of Thrones! Joe: There’s a new Rocky spinoff coming out… What about you? I look at Price, who kept quiet the whole time sipping his coffee… Phil: Give us a thirty second bio! Conor: The live music has picked up dramatically since we met Price! the core of the band is due to that young man. Joe: We shot a video last week in the venue where we met him for the first time. I asked Price’s band to open up for us, we watched him drum, literally a few weeks later… Conor: As quiet as he is right now he’s the loudest in the band! Finally can you explain the name? All together: No! Oh well, a hint of mystery cannot hurt! In the meanwhile, by the time you read this I’d be surprised if you haven’t come across Trip Switch… Do you feel the compelling need to check them out live? There are still a few tickets left for their London show on July 8th, plus plenty of Festival appearances in UK and out throughout the summer, including Reading and Leeds and an Italian slot with Muse. It’s all on www.nbthieves.com
expecting to fly again with
It’s one of those lovely, unexpected sunny afternoon in Soho when I meet Mark Morriss at the venue we used to call The Marquee - now a cheap and cheerful Wetherspoon. Busy days ahead (and behind) as always for the ex Bluetones frontman, always involved in several musical projects at once… but hold on, did we say ex? After their last goodbye in 2011, the Bluetones are about to get back on stage to celebrate their 20th anniversary in a series of autumn UK shows. In the meanwhile, Mark has found the time to revisit some 80s gems in his new covers album ‘The Taste of Mark Morriss’ - and let this old 80s girl tell you, he DOES show some taste there! Between reminiscing the good old days and exchanging audiobooks advice we end up losing track of time, but not before finding out all you need to know about The Bluetones comeback, the new record and all things Mark Morriss… Let’s start with The Bluetones 20th Anniversary shows. There was a farewell tour in 2011… Do you want a refund? [laughs] Like many things in life it’s all to do with timing… We had had a very difficult few years and at that point The Bluetones took a kicking behind the scenes – we’d been robbed of a lot of money, as happens in this business but it doesn’t make it any easier to take. We had a few kicks in the spine and the last one we didn’t feel like we wanted to get up from, we just wanted to lie there and take it. I think it was a case of ‘this thing is our baby, let’s just put it to bed now because it’s taken a kicking and we haven’t got the energy to keep bouncing back’… A bit disillusioned? Yes and also very protective of the thing that was ours. Like I say it was timing, we were getting to a certain point in our own lives – hitting forty and all that sort of thing – when you do think ‘Maybe I’d like to try something else for a little while or not be a Bluetone.’ That’s what kind of led us to say farewell, then we just missed each other! We did some shows about a year ago when I was touring in support of my solo album, all the other members of The Bluetones independently contacted me and said ‘If you need a guitarist/bass player/drummer…’ I emailed them and said ‘You’ve all asked me – why don’t we just do it like the four of us? Just turn up – announce it as a Mark Morris tour and when people turn up there’s obviously a crossover between Mark Morris and The Bluetones, a nice surprise when they turn up at the venue!’ From that it was just like being together again you know? We just enjoyed being together, hanging out, talking, drinking, waking up together… it all sounds very homoerotic and Lord Of The Flies, which it is to a certain extent, I guess that’s what being in a band is after a while! But we just missed the chemistry of being friends 24 hours a day because when you get older of course you have other responsibilities, other things pulling you left and right: girlfriends, wives and children which is understandable, so you need to be doing something that justifies getting away. A good excuse for a lads night… Just to see your friends, yeah it’s true, and what better excuse than to earn some money and that was it, it came off very quickly. At the end of last year drummer sent out an e-mail saying ‘I really enjoyed the shows last year’ and he’d love to do some more, so I said why don’t I ask the agent if he would mind if we played some shows just to be polite, and he said why don’t we organise a tour? I said OK, if you think anyone will come. We literally just wanted to play small clubs; hang out, rehearse for a couple of days and just
play and it turned into this little tour. Do you think it could lead to something else? New recordings? I don’t think so – not yet anyway. We’ve not even discussed that. We’ve not done anything by the rules before, I don’t think we’re going to start now. This has just been born out of a desire to be together. I don’t necessarily think that means it’ll be a creative kind of council, who knows? At this point we haven’t discussed it. Over the last four years we’ve all built new lives for ourselves and so we’ll see. It’s a 20th anniversary tour – how do you find that the industry has changed in those twenty years? Almost completely. I was talking with this guy from Acid Jazz, my current record label, he’s in a band and he’s just about to be signed to Island Records; I asked how was it? Have you been wined and dined – all these different labels that want to win your heart? He said no and I just found that odd in itself – ‘What?! You haven’t been taken out to dinner? Don’t sign!’ [laughs] It’s changed – social media, what was that? That wasn’t even a phrase five years ago, the internet wasn’t even a thing twenty years ago. You used to have a blog on Myspace if I remember… Yeah but Myspace was only twelve years ago and now it’s gone. It’s like VHS and Betamax! What’s your favourite now? Twitter’s my thing. 140 characters suits you then? It’s just short, sharp and less invasive. Facebook wants to know where’ve you been, what you like, what you had for breakfast – I find that all too invasive. Anyone can connect with you and say ‘Hey, I’m here with Mark Morris!’: you’re not – you’re just in the same building! [laughs] They can see you in a restaurant and you get home – who were you with tonight? ‘Just the guys.’ It says on Facebook you were out with this person, this person and this person! Quite an active social life!
"Even that decision was about unity. It was a sad and reluctant moment when we came to that conclusion, but we came to it together"
Yeah. [laughs] Back to the industry, everyone’s had to tighten their belts haven’t they because of music piracy – let’s not beat around the bush, that’s killing the industry. There’s a generation that expect it for free, they just want to click it and get it for nothing whether it’s a movie, a magazine, a record or whatever other form of media. They expect it for free, they think ‘Well I paid my line rental, wi-fi and phone line…’ It’s a very blurred line. I think there’s always been a thing like anything artistic is not really considered a job It makes it easier to exploit because we love what we do, people presume that because you love what you do, you’ll do it for nothing. It’s always been there in a way but it was harder to access for free – there used to be fake tapes back when I was young. They were just teasers really, because the sound quality would degrade every single time you played it, whereas now in the digital age you might as well just keep playing this copy that you’ve burnt. Aside from the money side of it you’ve said you came out of it a bit disillusioned when you said farewell four years ago. Is there something that you felt got better in time? Well I wasn’t disillusioned with the industry as a whole, I was disillusioned with the experience The Bluetones had and I wanted to make a fresh start for myself. I mean, I’d been doing an ‘apprenticeship’ for twenty years, I didn’t want to suddenly do something else, I’ve got no other skills and I still love what I do, I just wanted a fresh start. My baby was getting kicked around and I didn’t want to see that anymore, none of us did. So we did a farewell tour and when you do one everyone suddenly comes out of the woodwork, it’s like where the fuck have you guys been for the last ten years?! [laughs] Your first solo experience – did it change your approach to The Bluetones? No it didn’t at all, in fact it made me much more conscious of the rest of the band, I really didn’t want them to think that I was going out on my own, it made me more precious about the band – in a way you overcompensate: ‘This isn’t me doing my thing, you guys are the priority. This is just a hobby, whilst you guys are having kids I’m making a record.’ They all played on that record and two of them played on my last record as well. It’s difficult to explain because people outside of the industry don’t understand that or don’t want to believe that you can just be best friends and not have a problem with that sort of thing. iIt's refreshing to hear that your split wasn’t about conflict… Even that decision was about unity. We felt this thing at the same time of ‘let’s not see this go through the mud, let’s draw a line under this and move on with our lives’. It was a sad and reluctant moment when we came to that conclusion, but we came to it together – there wasn’t one or two people pushing to get away, it descended on us all at the same time like food poisoning! I guess it’s an age thing – having young children and all those kinds of responsibilities does change your thinking. How did the changes in your life change your songwriting? I don’t know if the changes in my personal life informed my songwriting apart from subject matter, if anything it made it harder because you need to fight to get the time to pick up the guitar and have some time to yourself which is always very important if you’re a kind of creative person, you need that solitary time. What inspires you? Everything: conversations, postcards, paintings, things that people say and dreams. Those times where you’re in-between sleep where you have all these new ideas and you think of things that haven’t been said before but mainly it’s an understanding that the songs don’t come from me, the songs are out there and I’ve just got to reach out and pick them out of the air. As a young man you think you’ve got them inside you and you have to work hard at it, you have to work hard at the discipline of just sitting and writing it down, but I think just open your mind, they just hit you – ‘Got to record this, write this down so I don’t forget it, sorry!’ then come back to it when you’ve got the time. Do you look back at things you’ve written and go ‘where the fuck did that come from’?
I get that from things from years ago. It’s floating around in the universe, you’ve just got to receive it. I hear you’ve got another album ready… There’s an asterix attached, it’s a covers album. I had another big writer’s block that lasted almost two years, I was trying to receive but nothing was coming, so to kick start the process I phoned my friend who’s got his own studio and said can we book some days, I’m not sure what we’re going to do but let’s record some songs, some cover versions I’d like to do JUST to get into the studio again because it had been about two years. In many ways it’s like a painter not picking up a brush so I was terrified of just losing my mojo. I got into the studio and recorded four cover versions over this long weekend, we completely transformed the songs, stripped them down, made them sound quite different and I thought this was fun and I’d like to continue to do this. I was signed to Acid Jazz at the time and I spoke to them – ‘I don’t know what my next record is going to be but if you let me do this it could be like in six months.’ They were very supportive of the idea, for me I just found the whole experience of taking other people’s songs apart like a car engine: spread it all out and put it back together again slightly different. Do you tend to put a lot of your input into a cover rather than just copying it? There are a couple of songs which are quite faithful – I just wanted to sing those! Can I ask which songs they are? Rock And Roll Woman by Buffalo Springfield – actually, that’s the only one I’ve been pretty faithful to, I’ve changed the feel or the structure of all the others. With the Buffalo Springfield song it really was just ‘I want to do this but louder’! Would you like to mention some more songs from the album? I do a Madonna song – ‘Angel’ from Like A Virgin, the melody’s the same but the instrumentation’s completely different and new chords. I learned the chords from her version, they were bright and breezy, it was co-written with Nile Rodgers from Chic but my version’s all minor instead of major chords so it feels sad, like there’s a longing. I’ve done a Pet Shop Boys song ‘Love Comes Quickly’: used real instruments instead of synth based and synth drums and it feels to me like one of my songs. It’s the gayest thing I’ve ever done, even gayer than their version! That says something! A Laura Branigan song – Self Control, that was an Italian songwriter (Raf) and Gloria was an Italian songwriter as well (Umberto Tozzi), that’s my favourite on the album. An OMD song – Souvenir A REM song (Good Archives) A Jesus And Mary Chain song (Almost Gold) A Sisters Of Mercy song (Lucretia My Reflection) which I completely changed: all the same chords but I completely changed the riff.
You can tell we’re the same age… [laughs] I picked these songs not because they had a deep emotional meaning and connection, I just wanted to sing them! There’s a lot like Self Control that was great at the time… Now it sounds dated! Yeah but it’s still a good song and the new generation doesn’t know it. It’s actually nice to bring it to them. That was my thinking – if I could make someone realise that I didn’t know I liked that song until I did it. Obviously it’s nice for my ego but that’s the whole point of this – it’s not about me, it’s about these songs. I’m singing them, I’ve rearranged them slightly but it’s the songs that are great, it’s these throwaway songs, trash to a lot of people – they’re not trash to me, these melodies that stay in your heart, stay in your mind, you just have to hear them and you’re transported back. There’s so much snobbery in music and I just thought well, someone who wouldn’t normally listen to a Laura Branigan song or a Madonna song or a Pet Shop Boys song will hear me do it and go ‘that’s alright actually!’ That’s a victory. I still have a love for that music though. I remember when I was shooting Westlife or one of these boy bands and they were mostly playing covers… Barry Manilow songs, all these great ballads from the 70s and 80s. Everyone thinks they’re original, they didn’t have many songs to their name… I’m in my forties now and you become more aware of these things – the young kids don’t know what they’re talking about so you can trick them for a minute – ‘What is it? Oh it’s that guy! Oh it’s a cover.’ It’s too late then, they either like it or they don’t. It’s like conning your audience into thinking you wrote those songs – that’s what Elvis did, all the great rock and rollers did in the beginning! They were sharing each other’s songs and passing them around, it wasn’t about ownership, it was about expression. That’s how I thought about it, they don’t have to have any great personal meaning, I just want to sing them! Elvis wouldn’t have picked songs because they touched him, he’d pick them because they hit his ear
and he liked them, that was my reasoning and it got my mojo working again. After that did you get any inspiration for new songs? Yes, after I got about two thirds of the way through the songs at home just started coming. The record only got finished about three weeks ago so it’s quite fresh but literally two thirds through I was like ‘I want to get this finished because I want to get to my own stuff now!’ It worked, it’s completely reawaken the muse. I hoped it would and it has. So when can we expect the covers album? 31st July and it’s called The Taste Of Mark Morriss. [Mark then proceeds to show the cover] Think Brian Ferry, I’ve copied that Duran Duran lettering from Is There Something I Should Know, that era. The photographer wanted to take his name off the credit bscause he didn’t like the images that I picked – ‘that’s not what I was going for!’ That’s what *I* was going for, I’m paying you aren’t I?’ It surprised me – he was like ‘it looks too dated.’ Yeah? It’s an homage. You wonder what these people are thinking… I don’t think he got the concept, I wanted to look like Brian Ferry about to get onto a yacht! A bit of the Rio video as well. Exactly! That era, it’s like now in an ironic way, in 82/83 we were living in an age of austerity with the Tory government, it’s not deliberate or pre-conceived by myself – I’m not going to pretend that it’s a big idea – but it harks back to a similar sort of time. It doesn’t have to be intentional, sometimes the situation around you… Of course, it doesn’t have to be intentional it’s just natural. Covers album, possibility of another new solo album… I’m going into the studio Thursday after next to start on the new one, it’ll be out next year. You’re touring a lot – solo and with Bluetones in September. Is playing live your main thing? If I’m not playing music I’ll stagnate, music’s to be shared. I get less tired now than when I was in my twenties! God, we’re all in denial about ageing and we’re all going to say ‘I feel better now than I was twenty years ago!’ Maybe some of that’s true who can tell? I certainly do feel more connected to my music than I did in my twenties and more to everything about it because I do it myself now: turn up, play some shows, engage [with the audience], hang out with them afterwards and I feel more energised even if I don’t have as much energy, I feel more inspired now. How old are your kids? Six and two so they’re pretty young and still not got their head around that their dad’s a musician which is OK. They might grow up and like something completely different. That’s fine, just want them to be happy don’t we! They’re their own people, you’ve got to give them credit for being their own person. Even if they’re wrong I like to see them form an argument! Now with all the highs and lows of your career if one of your kids wanted to be a musician would you be horrified? Not at all because life’s not about making money, life’s about spending time: spend it well, be happy. That’s my only advice to my children. If I can help, I’ll help. You’ve got another live thing going on as well… Matt Berry (Toast Of London, Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace, Snuff Box), I’m playing the Royal Albert Hall in September for the first time in my career! I also do music for David Walliams’ children books. Music aimed to kids – is that something you treat differently? No, I don’t treat it any differently, I don’t think about it being for kids, I read the books for a day or two, I think about what feeling they leave me with and try to create some music that captures that feeling but I’ve only got 70/80 seconds to work in so I want to make something catchy –
a musical hook that in some way captures how I felt about reading that book. It’s such an abstract concept: even when you read a book you start to hum things in your head. Looking back on twenty years of your career, what’s the one thing that you’d like to achieve? I can speak for all of the band when I say that: a decent North American tour. Funny enough, I was going to ask about the cancelled tour in 2006/2007… That’s because our manager disappeared with all the money that very morning, that was the first domino that fell. The day we were going to fly to New York we got a text message saying ‘check your emails’, and the email said goodbye, the money’s gone, you’ll never hear from me again. He was our manager for twelve years, then one day something snapped – it was cocaine. When it all happened people were asking us, was it the cocaine? We didn’t know he was addicted, obviously we all had our fun in the 90s, then we all quit drugs at the end of the 90’s bar alcohol or weed. We thought he was clean and EVERYONE else knew that he was not, he kept it from us. We also got offered a tour with Weezer in 1997 – there’s a song from them on the record as well - but the American record label said no, so we never properly toured North America. We’ve played four gigs in North America in our entire career. It’s that weird thing as well, you’ve been in the industry for a few years and you see those bands that have a sniff of a hit record in the UK and they’re in America for two/three months; we had all these big singles, a number one album and we never went to America. I think we’d never have been a big success in America, I’d just like to have done it! Do you feel that there’s a chance it could happen? Not for The Bluetones – I think it’s too late, I don’t think it’s the climate, I just think the guys have got too much in their lives to fuck off to America for a month. I could do it. You all wouldn’t - for the sake of this thing that never became reality - just take a month off and get it out of the system? Actually you’re right, I think it would happen, I’m being a little too cynical. There’s no way the others feel less passionate about it then I do! If we got offered even four shows everyone would drop what they’re doing, if it became a two month tour even better. The kids/wives/ girlfriends would understand, otherwise why the hell would they marry us? Wives and girlfriends: you have been warned…
Justin Sullivan looks a bit lost but content, wandering around the press area at Camden Rocks with his rucksack, leisurely puffing from an e-cigarette. New Model Army are headlining the Jazz Cafe later, an unusual venue for a band so dear to the punk and alternative scene. We sit down with him to hear his thoughts about this Festival and what else is happening in the NMA world… You’re doing quite a few appearances on festival circuit this summer… Yeah, we did two last weekend. One was very folky - although the headliners weren’t - and the day after an it was metal and punk. Later on in the org i M n e summer we’re doing a hippie festival. I Jo h M a s s y b a w in remember one summer we did a metal r vi e C r i st e t In otos festival, followed by a folk festival, followed by a ph goth festival and followed by a hippie festival. No one knows who we are. You’ve managed to transcend any festival with a set that seems to accommodate any sort of crowd – is the festival scene something you enjoy doing? I actually really like little clubs so today will probably be quite fun – we have to throw stuff onto the stage, play the gig then throw it off! I don’t mind – we’ve played to a 100,000, we’ve played to eight people, it’s much harder to play to eight than a 100,000. What are your thoughts on a festival like this in Camden? Everybody likes Camden anyway because it’s what it is. I think the idea of a festival like this is a good idea although I haven’t seen anything yet myself. I spoke to you prior to Between Dog And Wolf’s release and you mentioned the idea of a sound that you wanted the band to explore, it then morphed into the live albums. Is that what you imagined? It did! I think Between Dog And Wolf is a really interesting record, I don’t think we’ve ever set out to make a record before where we had sort of an idea about where we wanted to go. With Dog And Wolf we had half an idea with the multi layered drums, but it wasn’t just that as an album; the other thing about it was like ‘let’s make an album, not something we’re going to go out and play live necessarily’ and then after we finished we thought ‘we’ve got to play this live, how are we going to do that?’ It was much easier than we thought having made a very ‘studio’ album. Now we’re engaged on another album where we want to explore some of the doors that Dog And Wolf opened – some interesting places to go. The one thing about that album is it never really felt like there was a band performing because it was very layered, so now we want to kind of do the same thing but much more performance based. Today Is A Good Day was very much a rock band in a room knocking it out. We want to do a cross between the two now – taking the best from Dog And Wolf and the best
of a rock band in a room doing it live. We’re a good band at the moment; in 35 years there’s sort of peaks and troughs, and we’re on a bit of a roll I think creatively. Ceri’s been good for us, being very young gives a different energy and we sort of found that when we were auditioning bass players – the younger they were, the different the energy was. He’s a very flexible musician, it’s been good for us really. Has the writing started for this album? It’s started. There’s a process by which ideas get pulled by everybody, then turning those ideas into actual songs is mostly me and to some extent Michael; then arranging, that’s pulled again with everybody, while everyone’s sitting around waiting for me to write some bloody words. I always write too many words! Any prospect for a potential new solo record? I’d really love to do another one, I’m really proud of that record. It’s just that I can say ‘I’m writing a solo record, it’ll take me three months’, but I know it’ll take me much longer than that and then everybody’s left twiddling their thumbs and if I come back after a year they might not be waiting for me anymore. I’ve got to pick my moment, this isn’t a good moment to go off and do something solo because the band’s on a roll, we’re really strong together. Ceri coming into the band – is it how you envisioned it? Band relationships are interesting aren’t they? I’m sure there’s been millions of studies of relationships between members of bands but they’ve always got the same combination of characters; don’t always have to be the same person and usually musicians are a bit extreme by nature – they’re all socially inept, if you were a person able to cope with everyday life you wouldn’t be a musician. So we’re all fucked up one way or another, then we’re put into these relationships which are very intense and you spend a lot of time together but that’s not the reason they’re intense. The reason is you’re all engaged doing something which you feel passionately about so every now and again there’s… y’know? Actually as bands go – this particular version of the band – we don’t fight very much, occasionally we do, we have our moments but I think there’s a misnomer because
I’m the only original member that New Model Army, it’s Justin Sullivan’s band with some other musicians: no, it still operates like a band, I don’t get my own way hardly ever! You’re coming back with your end of year shows and we never know what to expect with your sets – you’ll do a new album then perform a set of an album from twenty years ago! We never set out to muck about with the audience particularly, we’re mucking about with ourselves, you don’t want to play the same stuff again and again although there are some songs we really like playing. Last Christmas was a little bit different; we said we were going to bring in lots of different musicians and play two sets then November came, oh we’ve got to find some other musicians – Toby my mate who plays cello, Mark, Ed, Andy who played drums for us in April – we’ll get them and Tom who’s Ceri’s brother and plays harp for Florence And The Machine said he’ll do it. ‘So right, what are we going to do?’ We’ve got no rehearsal time, we’ve got a string section, a harpist, some extra drums, now what shall we do? So we just threw something together, what we thought might work, and it worked really well! I think the reason it worked was that it’s interesting how you can put different New Model Army songs from different times together, they sit together quite well – songs from the early eighties sit with songs from Dog And Wolf – and the other reason is we picked all the right people so it didn’t feel like a band with added musicians, it felt like a really big fucking band! When we went out on tour in the spring it was like ‘Oh I want the big band back!’ What can we look forward to at the end of the year – new material? Yeah I think by December we might be playing some new stuff. I mean we could do that now, the problem is in the old days you’d play your new stuff – I remember playing all of Ghost Of Cain before we recorded it –people would make cassettes and very slowly it would make its way around a few people; nowadays if we play a new song it’ll be straight online and then they’ll be discussing whether they like it or not in California tomorrow morning, which is weird and a bit sad I think because it makes you more reticent… I was going to ask how that makes you feel… It’s nice that people are interested but it means… If you play a song live and then the next day you go ‘hmmm, that didn’t really work’, it’s all good before you record it because you go through processes working out what works but the trouble is, by the time the album comes out everybody will have heard twenty five different versions of the song already and they’ll be bored, which stops you doing it really. I’m sure we’ll play a couple but we won’t play much of them. With who we’ll think about a week before – we tend to do that; sometimes we book studio time: ‘My god, we’ve got nothing to record!’ ‘Well we’ll have to work like fuck to get something to record in time!’ Actually if the studio time wasn’t sitting there we’d putter about, it’d slow the process down, the fact there is a deadline makes you focus. Is it nice to be now at that stage where you’re not under pressure from labels to have a deadline? We always ignored it anyway! The labels used to come to us and go ‘We really need the album by blah blah blah…’ We go ‘You’ll get it when you’ll get it!’ I remember back in the late eighties/ early nineties we were working on Impurity , this guy came down from the record label and went ‘How about doing a cover version?’ We went ‘What for?’ He said ‘Well a lot of that helps get it on the radio and then it helps sell the rest of the album.’ We said ‘Is that why?’ He said’ Yeah, that’ll be a really good reason.’ I said ‘Fuck off, you must be kidding!’ I don’t think we’ve ever done anything for commercial reasons. Now obviously you had relatively commercial success in the Eighties so I’m sure there
"If I look back at the time we were at our most commercially successful, I was probably at my least happy"
was more pressure… Early nineties actually, we were at our commercial peak and then we shot ourselves in the foot several times! I have a sort of feeling – I was talking about this to somebody the other day and they said ‘Maybe you just didn’t want it.’ – If I look back at the time we were at our most commercially successful, I was probably at my least happy. Somebody said to me: ‘Oh it’s such a shame, you could have been more successful than you were and how does it feel now?’ Well we’re free to make what we want, when we want in the way we want with who we want, go anywhere in the world we want and play it to who we want. How much better does it get than that? It’s quite a unique situation, there’s not that many bands in that position now. Ok there is some money issues and it’s harder for bands to make money, but at the end of the day I remember in the early nineties in the wake of The Pogues recording Vagabond: the world suddenly filled up with violin players doing a folk rock thing that we partly pioneered and that way got really big; just as it broke, we went off and did a hard rock, American sounding album in Love Of Hopeless Causes because we just felt like we could see a folk rock cul-de-sac beckoning. We were in Newcastle the other day and someone wrote to us: ‘That’s not what the old fans were expecting.’ Well if all the old fans were expecting a kind of nostalgia thing they’re following the wrong band really! We still play old songs, it’s just that’s not our reason to exist, it’s to always try and do something new and come up with new ideas although it does get harder, every writer has themes they come back to. I read something recently about New Model Army that rock music is essentially urban and some folk music has an aspect of not being urban, more rural; even when we’re not making folky music there’s an element which is kind of not urban, concerned with things that are bigger, slower and more permanent like nature, endless lyrics about mountains, oceans, the sky… Do you prefer writing while on the road or more when you’ve got time on your hands? We never write much on the road actually because you’re tired all the time – after two gigs you’re tired, you’re in a state of permanent tiredness and you raise yourself up for two hours to do the thing then you go back to being tired. Having ideas – I write in notebooks all the time or people come up with bits of guitar when sitting round the dressing room, but no one writes a song because song writing requires a lot of focus and absolute attention, and of course you’re
saving that for the night. What happens is we have two cupboards: one of musical ideas - riff, jams, often drum beats - and then in the other I’ve got notebooks full of things I’ve written – stories people have told me, observations; then you sit down and put that together. Now you have to wait until the cupboards are full, because you put out the first idea and it’s always rubbish, then you throw that one away and try another one, but if the cupboard’s full you pull out the fourth musical idea with the seventeenth lyrical idea and there’s something there, then you start working on that, you throw some away and keep some of it. If the cupboards are full there’s so many ideas to draw on and bit by bit you get into this positive frame of mind where everything starts to fit: Dog And Wolf we thought about for two years, we actually wrote it in six weeks. One last question: I was watching an interview with Roger Waters and the interviewer was asking him about his history in music and how it felt to have a song that reached critical acclaim then never being able to repeat that… I’ve never thought of that – let me think of one of New Model Army’s… Green and Grey. Yeah, good song. Will we ever create anything that’s as loved as that? Never thought about it and if I did I wouldn’t probably sit and accept it; it suggests that you’re writing for an audience. When we’re writing we’re never really thinking about them. The only exception was I Love The World, where I had the verse and the bridge for two months and I couldn’t get a fucking chorus: the trick is you have to be patient, don’t put it out with the wrong message, I remember walking down the railway line in Cornwall and thinking I love the world, I came back to the studio and said ‘I’ve got a chorus, it’s a bit simplistic but it might work.’ It was the thought of an audience just singing that together on a day like last weekend, when we played that at Bearded Theory and the sun was just set so it was golden; ‘Yeah that works!’ Generally speaking I never think about whether people are going to love it or not. Green and Grey is an interesting story as neither of us had liked what the other had done: I did like Robert’s music but didn’t know what the hell to do with it and he went ‘Fuck’s sake, go write some words!’ So I did, and I did it quite quick because I used some words from other songs I was writing. I came down and sang it and he said ‘I’m not sure about that at all.’ So we had a bit of an argument, the next day we listened to it and went ‘Pretty good’. But at the time we weren’t sure at all. Do you think you need sometimes that conflict in a band? I desperately need it and I have it with Michael more than anyone else in the band. I play him something and he considers. I sometimes can’t judge stuff I’m doing myself or I need an opinion to bounce off, he’s very good with me. He’s also good with producing in a way, I remember doing one song – I was singing it and he went ‘it’s not good’, I said I know but it’s not happening for me and I don’t know why’. He said ‘Sing me the song with a guitar.’ So I did and he goes ‘now sing it like that!’ and it was much better. This is what a producer does. We know each other very well so we have an understanding, it takes a long time to develop that kind of relationship. We’re critical of each other. You’ve gotta be, and you rely on each other to be critical, you know, not everything we do is great. I was talking about Navigating By the Stars and I said ‘that’s 60% good’… ’60?? That’s amazingly high!’ he said… I’m usually around 15% happy! Hopefully Justin will be at least 50% happy about a packed Jazz Cafe tonight. Now, time for us to join the queue and for him to throw his stuff on stage… For more info, tickets and dates, please head to www.newmodelarmy.org
As Funeral for a Friend celebrate Hours’ 10th birthday along with a brand new album, Matt meets Gav Burrough at Download to talk about old, new and athletics… It’s quite busy for you guys at the moment as the DVD celebrating the Hours anniversary is out – in the decade since Hours how do you think personally Funeral has grown as a band and yourself? For me it’s a little bit different as I wasn’t
in the band at the time – I came in about six years ago – but as a band we’ve evolved – new members and we’ve gone in a new direction. How did you see Hours as a fan then in that case? It was fantastic, I’ve always been good friends with the guys, really good music and it was nice to have friends around you who were a part of something. You’ve also done a venue tour recently – how did that go? We released the album in January and been pretty much playing shows non-stop, some shows are good, some are bad! How do you find touring in general these days? The way we do things now is pretty easy, we make sure we have enough days off so we’re not away from our families and things like that. I find it really enjoyable especially the last few months or so we’ve been doing shows Thursday, Friday and Saturday then going home on the weekdays so you get a nice balance. What have been you listening habits while on tour? A band called SOAK, Phil Collins – that’s why I shaved my head! [laughs] – I listen to pretty chilled out music. Another tour on the way later in the year as well as festivals then? It’s not a tour essentially – just bits and bobs throughout the year, we try to get everywhere in the UK. The first tour (in January) was the main cities. Out of all the festivals you’ve done which is your favourite? I like Download now, it’s quite condensed. They all have their individual charms. I went to Green Man last year, that was bangin’ too! What do you like to do then when you’re not doing touring or anything band related? I like triathlons, I’m doing an iron man in two weeks!
As soon as I sit with Benji Webbe he notices my accent and we start talking about Italy, ex girlfriends, Italians, American Italians, gangsters, then somehow the conversation turns to juvenile shoplifting… Better get back to more legitimate topics. Let’s start by talking about Camden Rocks, quite a special Festival, people taking over the streets and all… I’ve been looking forward to this festival, we were supposed to play it last year but didn’t happen so I’ve been looking forward to it since, and since they told us we’re playing in The Underworld, a small club, I’m even more excited! They do this kind of stuff in Texas – South By Southwest, that’s incredible, we played there once - but it’s great to see it in London, it’s really good. You’ve got a new album out in October – what can you tell us about it? I can’t tell you the name just yet (later announced as 'Volume', Ed.) but I can tell you that we went into a studio in London, Strongrooms, after spending two months in Bristol writing the record; we went in with the same guy that did Kill The Power and Union Black, James Loughrey, and we just wrote the new album. It’s different from all the other albums, there’s a lot of dancehall, I’m doing a lot of the reggae stuff, I’m really excited by this! Talking about reggae you’ve also just released a solo album… Only on my own, no big deal, I just wanted to do something that I did as a kid; before I started doing heavy music I used to sing what they call lovers rock, I fancied myself as a Dennis Brown or Maxi Priest and two years ago I met an old friend of mine, he sent me some rhythm tracks/ instrumentals and I just wrote a bunch of songs then one day I said ‘fuck it, I might as well release it!’ I didn’t want it to be like a big thing, I just wanted to press up a few thousand copies and just sell it to friends, family and people who like that kind of stuff, Skindred fans who like certain parts of my voice. The album is available ONLY online but it’s NOT on iTunes, only hard copies, maybe later on in the year I’ll do that. But it’s been fun to record! is called ‘I Haven’t Been Nickin’ In Ages’. Ha! So that weird discussion earlier wasn’t casual… Where did the title come from? I watched a British movie when I was a kid called Kes and there’s a line in the movie where a little boy who delivers papers in the mornings gets to the paper shop late and, the guy that owns the paper shop he’s got his back to him, so he steals candy and cigarettes and puts them in his bag. As the guy turns round after he’s stolen the candy he says ‘you kids over from that estate, I’ve got to watch you because you steal all the time’ and the little boy even
"the opening band was called System Of A Down – they went on first, they blew me the fuck away, and I haven’t seen a band do that vocally or musically in a very long time"
though he just stole, looks the guy in the eyes and says ‘I haven’t been nickin’ in ages!’ For me that really reminded me of me as a kid… Could you lie and get away with it as a kid? Of course I could, I’m the best liar! I’m Italian! [both laugh] Are you going to tour with Skindred after the album release? We’re going to be touring October/November. You’re also going to be presenting the Kerrang Awards… HOSTING the Kerrang Awards, I’ve presented a few times before, with me and Andrew W.K hosting it, it should be fun! Who would give the best newcomer award to? Amy Winehouse. [laughs] In all honesty sister, I don’t know who’s new. I listen to music a lot but I only listen to what I enjoy and I haven’t heard a metal band that’s moved me in a long time. There’s two bands that have moved me in the last three years: Sleaford Mods and Die Antwoord. They’re the two bands that give me what I want: vocally they’re doing something different, they’re pushing the boundaries lyrically and I don’t find that in aggressive what you call metal, everybody wants to be pretty much the same – cookie cutter music. You’ve either got the ones that want to be tough with short sleeves or the ones with the long hair, but everyone wants to be the same and there’s nothing there for me. Obviously watching a band live is not the same as listening to an album and I haven’t seen a band in a long time that’s made me go wow – a metal band, that kind of stuff. When I was in my old band Dub War we played in New York City we were with a band called Snot and Shootyz Groove and the opening band was called System Of A Down – they went on first they blew me the fuck away, and I haven’t seen a band do that vocally or musically in a very long time, I think bands are very safe, they’re scared of doing something a little bit different, that’s what I find with metal music. Lifetime achievement award? Freddie Mercury! Every time, Freddie. You mentioned Dub War – they’re
playing at Download. We’re friends and we’re doing the show together at Download but It’s just fun, music’s supposed to be fun and I think everything comes a little too serious with record labels and all that bullshit. I believe record labels and music are two different worlds and I wanted to do something which was free, I wasn’t a slave to it, wasn’t forced to try and find hits. We had the weekend off, I talked to the guys in Dub War and said let’s get a couple of jams together and go play a show. Do you feel at this stage of your career you still manage to keep enough creative freedom? Well that’s what I’m saying, I love Skindred, I’m a firm believer in the Skindred message but I like the fact I can do the reggae album and do a show with my old band Dub War. I’ve got that freedom and everyone in Skindred has that freedom, we all support each other’s wishes whether it be teaching drums or whatever. So there’s no pushover from Napalm? I don’t know. I don’t care, but until they knock my door, I’m doing whatever I want, the album I’m doing with Skindred is a kick-ass album with some amazing songs on there and Napalm can’t be upset! Dub War was a one off and I Haven’t Been Nickin’ in Ages is tiny, but Skindred is my heartbeat. Are you going to do any gigs with I Haven’t Been Nickin’ In Ages? No I won’t, that was just for fun. Would be nice though! Maybe I’ll do a little one in a bar somewhere. Maybe. I’ll charge 50 quid a ticket! I thought was just for fun! I’ve changed my mind already, I’m sorry! [both laugh] What’s happening next for Skindred? The record is a beautiful thing, it sounds fantastic but I just cannot wait to get in the rehearsal space and putting a new set together for the next two years, ‘cause some of the new songs we’re written are just incredible and need to be played live. Skindred is all about the live action. One last thing: ‘put your garments in the air!’ – What’s the origin of the Newport Helicopter? When we was in the dressing room going on the main stage at Download for the first time I was asked not to do the wall of death thing so about ten years ago I was at a hip-hop club in Texas and everyone took their t-shirts off and swung them around. I thought it was an amazing sight, fast forward to Download… Every night it happens, some people are swinging them around at the beginning now, it’s ridiculous! I called it the Newport Helicopter because that’s my home town and I love my home town. Any last thing you want to say? Youtube is a great thing but people have to support live music! You have to go to concerts, I don’t care if it’s dubstep, metal, punk or reggae, the only way you can support bands is by buying tickets and going to shows and buying t-shirts.
Sometimes it can be said that the world of music can get a tad too serious: Sweden’s H.E.A.T are one of the bands that are planning to put the fun back into rock, as vocalist Erik Gronwall and drummer Crash discuss. So since last time we Interview by Matt Dawson spoke to you guys back in Photo Peter Noble 2011 you’ve released Tear Down The Walls – Inferno being one of the best tracks I’ve heard in a few years - and I was talking to someone the other day about how too many bands aren’t trying to be fun anymore… It’s too serious I know! Having a band like you guys is very refreshing, what it is like to be coming back to Donington? It’s always a pleasure and it feels like we’ve been growing since 2011 because we got a bigger stage and more people in the audience so it definitely feels very good, we just wanted to keep on playing! I really like this place, it’s rock and roll. [Crash joins us at this point.] How is it for you to be back here? Crash: It feels awesome, this ground has so much music history into it so it feels like walking on sacred ground. How do you both feel you’ve grown as individuals since? Erik: I’ve grown a lot, when we played here in 2011 we didn’t even have Across The Nation out so we didn’t have anything with me on vocals, it was like I was in a cover band but then I started writing songs with the guys , we grew as a band and as friends, now it feels like I feel immortal! [laughs] Crash: I think Erik described it very well. As we were saying there needs to be some light in the seriousness of it all.. Erik: It’s just supposed to be fun. Any plans touring wise? Crash: We have a lot of festivals booked, we’re going to Japan this autumn but it’s mostly one-off shows then we’re going to write some music. So the plan is to wait until after touring’s done before working on the next record… Crash: Well we’re writing all the time, we always take our time when we work on an album, we wouldn’t release something that’s not finished because the label wants us to. Erik: We’re not in a hurry, we’re going to do the festivals and focus
on writing new songs when we get the creativity and motivation. Who would you love to tour with in the future then? Erik: it would be fun to play with Kiss. Crash: Foo Fighters as well. Erik: Our guitarist was there (referring to Dave breaking his leg recently) He gets injured, comes back to finish the set! Erik: On stage drinking whisky, it was just wow! Crash: My hero! Imagine if he cancelled the show…? Erik: That would have been alright, I mean people wouldn’t have been upset it’d be like ah OK shit happens but he went back on stage, it’s awesome! So what have you currently listening to while doing these festivals? Erik; Our bass guitarist introduced me to Muse just recently and I love it, there’s a lot of Queen influences. Crash: Asking Alexandria and Fall Out Boy as well.
Interview by Matt Dawson & Matthew Higgs
One of the most unique acts around at the moment – where else are you going to get a Sean Paul medley alongside covers of Limp Bizkit? – The Lounge Kittens are making their presence felt everywhere, with a good time always guaranteed come rain or shine. After a performance hyped by a special Download tribute, Timia talks to us about songs choices, fun at awards ceremonies and her love for Major Lazer and Run The Jewels! Firstly love the Download medley – starting off with Kiss’ Calling Dr Love, straight into Dr Feelgood and ending with Kiss is a nice cycle! Begin and end with Kiss – there’s about 15/16 bands we featured in that! Do people come up to you and say ‘I heard you on…?’ It happens all the time, it’s amazing and we thoroughly encourage it, afterwards I see people on social media: ‘We saw the Lounge Kittens but were too shy to come and say hello!’ Come and say hello. It makes me sad that people think we’re weird like that – I’m super imposing(!) Are there any songs you haven’t covered yet that you’d like to? Always, the list of songs we’re going to do is the length of my entire body, we churn them out so that they’ll all get done it’s fine but it’s really nice because it means our set list is always changing, usually we never do the same set list twice, the only exception was the Steel Panther tour we were doing but if you come to our headline shows it’s never the same experience twice. How was it with the Panther fellas? They do know how to party, they’re an absolute delight – the best guys. I would have quite happily stayed on tour with them forever because it was all the fun! Speaking of fun – you presented the Best Live Act at the Kerrang Awards. I managed to walk up to the stage in my big girl shoes without stacking it onto a very important person in the important bit down the bottom! We had very good company that evening, we were sat around a table and then The Darkness came and sat down, they’re the loveliest guys ever,
© Matthew Higgs
we don’t always do the rock and metal which we’re best known for but in our wider repertoire there’s a lot of hot stuff – 90 ‘s, a bit of hip-hop in there, R&B – as long it’s kind of cheesy and fun we’ll do it!
super charming and really good fun! The Ep’s doing really damn well – my favourite’s the Sean.. Sean Paul? Yes! That’s such a curveball [high fives], it’s an absolute joy to play and goes to show we don’t always do the rock and metal which we’re best known for but in our wider repertoire there’s a lot of hot stuff – 90 ‘s, a bit of hip-hop in there, R&B – as long it’s kind of cheesy and fun we’ll do it! You’re also doing Glastonbury – who are you hoping to catch there? Oh my God – Run The Jewels! YES! SO excited – they’re playing West Holts stage until 8 and we’re on after. If I meet them I’ll probably fangirl so hard that all my teeth will fall out! What are the plans post Glasto? Album recording time - a load of new songs that hopefully people will buy and say lovely things about it or some might hate it, it doesn’t matter. What are your thoughts streaming in that case?
on
Well you can access a lot of our stuff for free on the interwebs, Youtube, Soundcloud, Spotify. Pretty much every song we’ve done someone’s filmed it and put it on the internet but it’s not that expensive on iTunes. It can be a good gateway. Totally, I’ll rarely buy a thing I haven’t heard before, you do want to know what you want to buy, even if you’ve heard all the music but you buy a ticket or t-shirt it has a way of coming round again. You mentioned Run The Jewels, what other bands have you been listening to? I’m obsessed with Major Lazer – the new album I listen to four times A DAY! Any final words? ‘Be Excellent to each other’ is a personal favourite of mine!
Interview & photos by Mark Fletcher
Almost straight after their packed gig at Proud for Camden Rocks Festival, the three piece all-girl band from Scotland speak with me over a beer (thanks Ben) at the Gilgamesh… Ladies, welcome to Camden! Let’s start with a bit of an introduction… I’m Heather and I play bass I’m Gill and I’m guitar and vocalist I’m Hannah and I play drums Give us the lowdown on your background. Gill: We’ve been together for about five years now but last year we decided to be serious and give it a proper go, wrote some new songs and got a new album together. Me and Hannah met at college a few years ago and decided there were not enough girl bands out there so there was a gap to fill. We were then looking for a bass player and a singer because I wasn’t interested in singing. We found a bass player but it didn’t really work out, but then we enrolled Heather (Hannah’s younger sister) and we’ve been this trio for five years now. Have you always intended to be a completely female band? Yes I think so, there are not many all girl bands out there and we thought ‘why not do what guys do and give it a go’. Are you particularly influenced by any other all girl band? Rock Goddess are probably the biggest act that we follow, then Girlschool. Do you find things tough in a male dominated industry? We get a bit of stick occasionally but we don’t really think about it to be honest. Now it’s really a full-time job, it never crosses your mind and it’s certainly nothing like it used to be back in say the Eighties. On the flip side of that, you find being all girls opens more doors? I don’t think so, it’s a fairly level playing field. It’s all about whether people like your music and a bit of luck, knowing the right people and being in the right place at the right time. Who are your main influences when you write? I try not to listen to my favourite bands when I’m writing like Led Zeppelin, Van Halen and bands like that. I also try not to listen to classic rock because when you’re writing you need to think outside the box; I tend to listen to a broad range of music so that I can pick up little bits from different genres and I’m not writing the same kind of music all the time. You also have to be careful in how diverse you are, because what we are actually is made to measure rock, but
ultimately whatever your creativity is it’s going to come out anyway. So how long did it take you to put your album ‘Game On’ together? About a year overall. We’re not the sort of band that puts time aside to write and it’s really hard to write under pressure, but it got to the point where we had a few songs ready and the studio time was booked so it was a case of stop procrastinating and get on with it basically, and before you know we’ve got album number three around the corner! You’ve been opening for some quite legendary acts lately… We recently toured in March with Europe and Black Star Riders which was our first full-length tour and all the guys were really amazing. We toured with them on and off last year and it was essentially Ricky Warwick who saw us and said ‘I want you for the tour next year’. Playing with Scott Gorham was amazing too. Did you get any tips from him? Bananas. I suffer from cramp in the hand, as does he and he always keeps a banana on stage with him in case he gets cramp. I’ve now started doing that and it really works! So gig wise, what have you got planned for the rest of this year? We’re with Black Stone Cherry in Glasgow, we have a few gigs in France, we’re not playing any of the major festivals in the UK this year but we’re hoping to build up to those next year. We’re also going to Norway next month. So if the tables were turned and you could have any band you wanted supporting you, who would it be? Erm…. It's hard because you wouldn’t want anyone bigger or better than you, that would blow you off the stage. I don’t know it’s tough maybe someone like Suzi Quatro, or the Sweet, a party band type of act like Slade. What’s your last message to our readers? Have a good time all the time!!!!
London’s own grunge-punk new sensation Dumbjaw are back to Camden after taking part to Nightmare festival late last year: surely they must have impressed Chris McCormack. Mark Fletcher goes to Camden Cavern to find out what the hype is all about. After their high octane set, he can’t resist asking a few questions to their energetic frontman Lenny Verrallis… Give me the lowdown on Dumbjaw We were a five piece rock’n’ roll band from London but that wasn’t working, so we are now a three piece which is working a lot better because for a couple of others it was more of a hobby and that’s not what the (now) three of us want. We’re about to release our third single and we want to have an album out by the end of the year. Where does your sound come from? A bit of everything really. 1950s rock’n’ roll. I was brought up on Buddy Holly and the Kinks, Roy Orbison and that kind of stuff straight to the point really keeping it simple. Blended with a lot of alternative rock and a bit of grunge, metal and that kind of stuff. In terms of your following, how is that building now?
It was a slow build to start to be honest but one of the things we are missing is an agent, we’re kind of on our own at the moment. We just need to get a worth of material out there, because we’re one of those bands where you need to listen to a whole record to understand us and get the whole picture, rather than odd tracks here and there. So we’re trying to get as many supports as we can. Does that mean there’s a plan for an album? Yeah, later this year. We’re working on it at the moment and as yet it’s predominantly me on the record, but I’m hoping to get in the studio with the band pretty soon over the next couple of months and then to release by the end of the year but we have no planned release date yet. What about a title? Nothing decided at the moment, probably “Dumbjaw One” or something like that. But titles aren’t our forte so we may get people to name it for us, maybe via a competition or something like that. So how are you going to spread the word about Dumbjaw? We need to get on plenty of tours and play with all the bands we know anywhere and everywhere. I mean, you can ask your mates to come to your gigs but the truth is, you need to get exposed to the masses, you need to get out there. So who’s your line up now? We have a brand new drummer called Max Maxwell. He’s been with us three months, he’s quite young and he plays guitar and bass and can sing so he gets what we’re trying to do. Then we have Graham Lynch who plays bass and backing vocals and some guitar in the studio and we all get involved in the writing of material. How much do you think social media plays in what you do? Unfortunately too much, like hash tag interview, hash tag whatever… I know it’s a way of connecting things but, while it’s supposed to increase communication, it can lead to bigger communication breakdown if we don’t know how to handle what we’ve been given. I feel face to face communication should always be key and I think that suffers in some areas of society and for bands it’s better to be right in front of the people saying ‘here it is, do you want it, do you like it’ rather than listening to a band being great and then seeing them and they’re shit! But there are courses on how to use this stuff, how to use the right words so you reach more people. Madness. Where do you want to end up ultimately? On the running order for Reading Festival next year with an album out selling relatively well. I just want to play in front of full venues. What’s your message for Sonic Shocks readers? Don’t let anyone else tell you what you like!
I must be honest, aside from their infectious dirty riffs one of the things that caught my interest in LTNT is the fact they live all together in a van parked outside their rehearsal space. And they’re not trying to play the poor skint tormented artist card, they’re actually loving it! I decided however Gilgamesh was a more apt place for our chat…
Interview & photos by Cristina Massei
How’s it been going in Camden so far? Liam: It’s been good, we’re here quite a lot but today’s obviously a bit more exciting. You were supposed to play The Black Cap… Liam: Yeah, I was psyched for that, I’d never played there because a few people that we know have played there before at Camden Rocks/ Camden Crawl and had a really good show. How do you feel about the redevelopment of Camden? Neil: All roads end in gentrification, I think in five years London’s going to be a lot different, a lot of the vibe is just being literally bulldozed over so rich idiots can come in and make it an onedimensional city, the city’s got layers to it but it’s being chipped away and it’s sad. Liam: It does suck but change always brings good stuff – the harder things get, the better stuff that happens. You just look at post wartime London, obviously this is nothing on that scale but the fact things have started so badly for anyone wanting to do anything creative. This whole
thing has made us… we’re moving to Brighton in three weeks to write another record. Are you moving to Brighton because you’ve found a place or with the van? Liam: We live in a van, rent a rehearsal space and park outside, but now we’ve found another rehearsal space open 24 hours and we can park outside and keep sleeping in the van. We thought a change of scenery would be nice and this way we can play anytime we want, we’re going to demo everything! The 24 hours sealed the deal, didn’t it? Liam: Yeah because the one we’re in now has a curfew of 11pm and that’s when things just start. Neil: No one writes anything good before 5pm! Liam: All the squares are awake so they’re stealing all of the vibe, just fucking it up. Creative people are usually better at night and they shouldn’t wake up until midday. Liam: Sounds about right! It’s easy to do when you’re in a windowless room as well. We’ve blacked out the windows of the van so anytime you can pretend it’s night. You could put those stars on the ceiling! Ben: We should totally do that! You have your first album coming out in August – how would you describe it? Liam: The two most important things to us are riffs and songs that are melodic. I’ve always loved Al Jourgensen from Ministry and he’s always said ‘just make sure the song grooves but have a melodic element to it’ and that’s what we’ve tried to do across the record. I remember seeing Ministry live in Seattle, there’s something so catchy. Liam: The first couple of albums were like The Cure but more electronic so he’s got the pop sensibilities but the best heaviest music, one of my favourite bands. Neil: They’re definitely an influence on this record. A lot of bands are doing this bullshit, two piece, bluesy thing and going with the flow, we wanted to go a little more sharp and abrasive even though we’re not an industrial band. Ben: We use a drill in one song! Just really angular, clean, heavy riffs. I love the nu-metal movement: Korn and Fear Factory, Rammstein. Liam: Rammstein are just Ministry with a German singer! We did some effective synth stuff on
the record. All of the bits I didn’t like on the record are gone now so at least for 20 minutes after it’s out I’ll be happy with it! It’s out in August – label? Pledge? Liam: Shawn Morgan from Seether basically helped us out financially with studio costs, we have a manager - Maria - that’s like Wonder Woman in manager form – if it wasn’t for her we’d be in a room somewhere playing all this music and no one would hear it. Ben: The same five places in Camden to the same ten people! Shout out to Maria the manager! Why do you think she chose you? Ben: She’s a real music fan: Guns N’ Roses, Aerosmith. She knows her shit as well, she saw something in us. She was a lawyer, she basically just fucked her life to do this! Is she’s staying in the van? No! although she will be, she’s coming on tour with us for a month! I don’t know why she wants to do that, but she’s gonna do it. Liam, I hear you attracted interest from big labels when you were younger as kind of a pop sensation but you didn’t seem quite interested? Liam: I was, I love pop music, I made a couple of albums with some majors when I was a kid. I really got to like take the tourist route through the industry, it taught me a lot. I loved that whole time. It was just when it came to releasing they wanted to do this thing and that thing, and I was like ‘oh fuck this, I don’t want to do this.’ Making the album in the first place I loved it, I want to go back to it one day in a Mike Patton way. Try to write a pop record and see how it comes out when I’m a bit older… Do you think it’s difficult to have the right backing when you get bigger and still keep freedom? Liam: Yeah, the way we do it now is our manager’s trying to build our empire and everybody is safe. We’re all friends. Ben: I don’t want to work with anyone I can’t get drunk with! Liam: If you build those grass roots and if things do work out, when you do get bigger you’ve got the team there so there’s less friction. I wouldn’t change the music, that’s the whole point in doing it. We don’t need any more money than we’ve got. We’ve got a van, we’ve got enough food to eat every day. Neil: and there’s shoplifting as well! [all laugh] Liam: But yeah, we wouldn’t make changes ‘cause that would make us unhappy and surely you want more money to make you happy, if you’re unhappy what’s the point? And if you’re happy, why need any more money? I love your attitude! What got you into music? Ben: I think it was The Cardigans! Neil: An actual cardigan! Ben: Yeah, I saw this jumper on a chair and I thought ‘I’m gonna play bass!’. I was inspired by the buttons down the front… I started playing bass when I was 15/16, me and Liam met in the shitty punk scene in High Wycombe. Liam: When I had a side project I had Ben play bass on some gigs and I slowly ruined his life by making him less and less a part of society Ben: I had a career, a flat, and now I live in a van with these two! Liam: I’m gonna pay you back! Do you realise this is all nice and romantic now but you might not like living in a van so much in say 15 years from now? Liam: We talked about it, if we get the money and go on tour we could get a big tour bus… but
we don’t need a big tour bus really, we’re happy with the van! Neil: I like being efficient, the band’s got a vibe and I wouldn’t trade that for a wanky bus with dickheads and no vibe, I’d rather have our band with dickheads like us! Any more details on the album? Liam: if you don’t like it… fuck off! ‘Cause I will probably not like you… Ben: We’ve got one single already out from the album called No Home and we’ll have another single out before the album release. Neil: Facebook and Youtube is good to keep up, lot of videos on there. Ben: Ltnt.co.uk. I do Twitter Neil: I do Instagram, Ben helps with that sometimes, we all share the facebook. Liam: A three pronged social attack. What drinks aside from beer get the energy going? Liam: Jamesons but I can’t drink it before I play! Neil: Jamesons, if you could sponsor us, it would be in your best interest… also Volvic water! Any final words? Liam: Watch What Women Want – grossly underrated. Neil: I try to play drums like Mel in Braveheart! Any tours coming up? Ben: We’re going out on tour for all of August in Europe and UK (This was revealed as a tour with Seether during Download weekend, Ed.). For now all I can say German and Danish people, watch this space!
Interview by Matt Dawson Band photo by Zach Cordner
We live in a world that’s slowly decaying – recently there was talk that the Earth is on the brink of its sixth mass extinction event as the rate of vertebrates loss increases up to 100 times higher than without human impact; with their new album The Anthropocene Extinction, Cattle Decapitation want to make you more aware via powerful songs and striking cover imagery. Travis Ryan explains how learning more details of what he describes as ‘The Great Pacific Garbage Patch’ became the albums theme, he gives us an insight on the cover created by Wes Benscoter and explains how the likes of Phil Anselmo, Author And Punisher and Jurgen Bartsch became involved. We also find out which causes are close to his heart and how you can help regarding animals.
What inspired you to focus for the most part on the Pacific Ocean for the concept of The Anthropocene Extinction? Well, we live right next to it for starters. I live in Imperial Beach just above the Mexican border and the beach is right down the street. I've swam in and flown over the Pacific Ocean my whole life so its special to me, personally. The details of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch were disturbing enough to practically write a record around so a lot of that found its way into the theme and of course the album cover. Our lyrics have leaned towards topics involving the environment as that's something that is a great wealth of information for a band who has dealt with overpopulation in their lyrics for years. How did the guest contributions all come about for this album? Phil Anselmo came up through a friend who outright asked him and then informed us he had hooked up Phil for our album! Our friend and Derek handled it and came to us with the idea and I immediately thought he'd be perfect for that part that he ends up appearing on. It came to me right away and was a no-brainer so we quickly sent him the track and I did a really horrible rendition for him to match, haha. Jurgen Bartsch I had been talking to for a while and I just randomly got the idea for the part you end up hearing him on. I wanted him to do it in his native tongue to obscure a rather optimistic sentiment which is totally against his character so his delivery sounds fairly condescending and I LOVE that! It’s very tongue-in-cheek Cattle stuff, done by a member of one of my favorite bands, Bethlehem. Author & Punisher AKA Tristan Shone has been a friend for years and has recently blown up and rightfully so. The dude has a really fucking cool thing going and its good to
see him getting out there! So it was only a matter of time that he'd appear on something with us. I think it worked out perfectly. How was it to work with Dave Otero once more? Great, the guy is a lot of fun to work with. He's a hard ass of sorts but its only for the good of the album and when he's not doing that I just have a great time making him laugh and him and I know exactly where each other are coming from. I'm sort of a handful and he's receptive to that and is very tolerant. Recording is very tedious shit. I love it, but certain parts are pretty tedious and he's really good at working us through it. Describe the excellent artwork for the album by Wes Benscoter Well, we have ye olde "turn the tables" approach that Cattle Decapitation has always pretty much had in our stuff. Here we find the aftermath of the Anthropocene era which is the proposed time period we are currently living in beginning when man's footprint really started to have a negative impact on the environment. The humans in this scene are a metaphor of sorts of what's been going on in the Midway Atoll islands. The albatrosses have been mistaking the plankton in the ocean for food, ingesting it and winding up dead on the island. As they decay, the pieces of plastic remain as plastic never deteriorates. It’s not going anywhere. We've covered this world in it and continue to do so. As we continue to knock down ecosystems by
doing away with biodiversity, we're creating a domino effect that will end up doing us in if we haven't blown ourselves up or killed each other off already. Which causes are close to your heart? Either environmental or otherwise. Anything that has to do with wildlife. My father raised me to be aware, as aware as I can be anyways. I have a soft spot for birds of prey, especially ones native to where I grew up, in Southern California. He would do volunteer work with this rescue near where I grew up and I've gone and helped release some with him before. It’s amazing seeing a RedTailed Hawk up close. He could rip your fucking nipple off. That was pretty unnerving but incredible at the same time. The power these things have, it’s awesome. I'm a firm believer in people working locally, doing what they can in their areas to make things better for their communities and the animals in those communities. ALWAYS adopt, never buy. There's plenty of young animals in shelters that you can provide a long, happy life to. What are the plans regarding touring in UK and Europe? We're hoping to get over there as soon as possible but we have confirmed a lot of North American dates recently that will be taking up a big chunk of Summer into Fall and we'd rather not tour during the winter over there or in the USA. That's the time we'd like to get to the Southern Hemisphere or something. If we don't get over there this year though we'll be there as soon as we can! We're just trying to figure out now exactly what we want to do but one thing is for sure, we have a TON of USA stuff coming up, which is pretty standard for us although last album, I think Europe was the first place we went! What bands are you currently listening to? King Parrot, Agalloch, Leviathan, Sol Invictus and the almighty Magma. I've been a huge fan of theirs for years and I recently came into a bunch of recordings I didn't have and I also went to a show. I think it was the most moving experience of my life at one show. Incredible.
A GUIDE TO GETTING
DRUNK
By Cristina Massei
Chinese Missy: these guys are responsible for all the sleepless nights I’ve been having lately, ‘thanks’ to their video for ‘Blood on Your Hands’, particularly that image of Cameron pants down on a toilet playing with his nipples. Some things just can never be unseen. Before I get to that and I ask them what the hell they were thinking there, I have to enquiry about the frontman’s choice of stage name - Bello… You know that means ‘beautiful’ in Italian, right? Bello: Yes! Tom L: What? I had no idea – so you called yourself beautiful! Bello: Well I’m not going to choose ‘shitfaced’ or something! TomL: [laughs] The Italian for shitfaced! What is that? So after everyone achieves a close enough pronunciation of the word ‘ubriaco’, it’s time to find out if Chinese Missy are just pretty - I meant, beautiful - faces. You did Download last year on the Red Bull stage, you’re here at Camden Rocks and you have had two singles out already. How did you get that far so quickly? Bello: Our first single we put out and it went down really well, got to 28 on the iTunes rock charts. Download was more through Red Bull Studios, we entered a competition; they liked, chose and backed us. We went there, recorded a song then they put us on their stage! Tom L: We’ve just been grafting for it basically, we’re just doing a lot of hard work. Bello: It looks like it’s such a short time but there’s a good three years worth of just gigging. Is there anywhere we can listen to more than just the two
singles? Bello: Live’s the best place, there’ll be an EP coming out in the foreseeable future. What’s the best way to get info and keep our eyes out? Tom L: Facebook, Twitter, all that kind of stuff. We haven’t got a set date yet for the EP release but probably towards the end of this year, early next year. We should have three new songs on there, it’s exciting! When can we see you next? 3rd July at the Barfly. One of our favourite places to play. Jubilee? Tom L: Yeah, fucking awesome club night, really excited for that one. We’re then taking a couple of months off to do a little bit of writing. Bello : That’s the thing, we’re not playing much over the next few months because we’re doing the EP and stuff so we need to lock ourselves away really and get the songs churned out. Who’s the main songwriter or is it a team effort? Tom L: Bello here comes up with a bit of a song and these guys put their embellishments on it, they tweak bits here and there, make it better, make it Bello not Ubriaco. [All laugh!] When do you guys find that you’re more creative, before or after ubriaco? Bello: Definitely when sober! [All laugh] Being ubriaco doesn’t end well! Tom L: I’m still secretly convinced we’re quite good when we’re drunk! Bello: I can’t sing when I’m drunk, dries my throat out. We did a gig in Liverpool back in the early days: me and Rich were quite sober, these two (points at the two Toms)… Tom M: We spent all afternoon in a pub, we’re supposed to be the tight ones as well, the rhythm section is supposed to hold things down. Rich: We were definitely keeping that ship from sinking. Tom L: Yeah you were! We were a mess that night. Nowadays we do the thing of we go on stage sober but we take so many drinks on stage by the end we’re all fucked anyway… Bello: Only HE does this! He goes on stage with three JD and Cokes, downs them before the second to last song so he’s drunk for the last song! Rich: The second to last is quite a slow song as well so he can stumble through that quite easily! So if I ever buy you a drink it’s after the gig… TomL; Oh buy us a drink whenever you want [laughs] Favourite drink? Tom L: Tequila Rich: Tom Collins Tom L: I’ve never fucking seen you drink one! Bello: I have! TWO Tom Collins! What’s a Tom Collins? Rich: A gin cocktail. Tom M: Tequila and beer Bello: Tequila. Ok. Don’t get excited anyway, I’m not buying you a drink. Just giving your fans some info in case they want to!
"Maybe people actually did enjoy watching them in the toilets and thought we’ll have another five years of that!"
Now, tell me, how did the video for Blood On Your Hands come about? Bello: We tend to write songs with a political edge to them sometimes, we did that then we had the election coming up and we were like ‘we could make this fun!’ We were going to involve the politicians and then thought where’s a nicely fairly lewd place to have it and we thought a public lavatory, it snowballed from there. Rich: It was also that Spitting Image kind of… Tom M: We thought we’d get Thatch in! Tom L: Here’s the REAL (note: not really!) story: we stumbled upon some CCTV footage of the House Of Commons toilet of David and Nick getting it on in the lavs and put some music to it! Still didn’t manage to change the result of the election though! Tom M: We tried! Bello: Maybe people actually did enjoy watching them in the toilets and thought we’ll have another five years of that! Tom L: They liked the dance moves so much – ‘I tell you what, David Cameron can seriously move!’ Bello: He can get some shapes going! Tom L: George Osborne, he was the one. Tom M: It was all about Thatch for me though! Bello: Did you like it? I did. Tom L: Did you laugh or was it more ‘What the fuck?!’ It started as what the fuck then I laughed! Bello: When that was coming out I spent weeks emailing all these blogs and stuff and I thought to chuck it to quite a lot of right wing blogs just to see the reaction. I’ve got so many emails: ‘this is unfunny, this is disgusting, horrible!’ We got LOADS that hated that. Tom L: Some guy said ‘Why have I found this on my Facebook? I have taste in music and this certainly isn’t it!’ Like his taste goes, we didn’t fit it and therefore we were shit! Bello: The good thing about the election is, our video it’s relevant for another five years! Is your music generally politics or just this one case? Bello: it’s a real mixed bag but there’s a few in there and also a few about girls, the standard stuff. Tom L: The main thing is we don’t want to restrict ourselves to people interested in politics. Rich: The main thing in our music is we want people to have a good time so whatever it is it’s going to be fun and you’re going to be able to dance to it.
Tom L: If you can come away with the right political opinions that’s a good thing. What do you think was the kiss of death for Milliband? The bacon, the promises carved in stone or Russell Brand? Tom L: I really liked Ed and the main reason I liked him was I felt he actually gave a shit, every time you watch David Cameron speak it’s obvious he just doesn’t give a fuck about anyone but himself and his chummy little mates. Bello: It was exciting. It was the first time since the 70’s that the country could have gone fairly left wing. Tom L: Also the first time I feel they tried to engage with younger people – the whole Russell Brand thing was an effort to do that. That was a bit weak though given his ‘don’t vote’ stance… Tom L: That was a bit stupid because he told people not to vote then after the registration deadline closed said ‘ Oh hang on…!’ Bello: The weird thing was David Cameron was like Ed was a joke, I don’t have time to hang out with comedians, Brand’s a joke. Tom L: Wasn’t he hanging out with One fucking Direction?! Don’t you find it became a lot more about PR and image? Bello: That’s why we quite liked Ed, he was just like ‘I’ll get a bacon sandwich, shove it in my face!’ When The Sun printed that the day before I thought, if the worst thing he’s ever done is not know how to eat a bacon sandwich, he must be a good man! Tom L: I did like the Millibae thing! Bello: After a few months of the personality campaign by the Tories, the fact little kids came to the rescue, I thought that was great! Back to music, what are your influences? Bello: It’s a lot of rock and roll: 60/70’s but we’re not old fashioned in that way, a lot of blues, Rage Against The Machine type stuff. Tom L: Rock music to dance to. Bello: A lot of energy and passion there, that’s what we pride ourselves on. You come to a gig and go apeshit. Any final words? Bello: Come along to our gigs. Tom M: That’s where we really shine, come along and see us. Tom L: We can all get ubriaco afterwards! We all know what drinks you like! Bello: A guide to getting Chinese Missy drunk! Can that be the name of it? [Laughs] Sure Beautiful, why not…!
After their gig at the Hawley Arms as part of the Camden Rocks Festival on 30 May, I caught up with the delightful local lasses calling themselves The Fourfits, an all girl band made of all sisters ranging from 20 years to 26 years old. It was one of the most fascinating interviews I have done, as the passion from these girls was electrifying but the style in answering questions, left me beaten. All four were equally involved and eager to be heard, so without further ado, here they are: The Fourfits! th
Lets start with an introduction... I’m Alice I’m a drummer and the baby I'm Harriet, I play bass and sing I'm Becky, I play synths and sing I'm Charlie, I’m the oldest and I play guitar. Interview & photos Mark Fletcher So how did you, or why did you, put the band together? It’s Alice’s fault. I started learning the drums at the age of around seven and these guys kind of followed suit. We also all play piano and are a string quartet. We saw and heard the drums and said that’s kind of cool, and dad plays guitar so I started learning from him. We’re all classically trained and we all play classical instruments but this is now our main project. How do you find it moving from classical music which is less heartfelt and more scripted to playing rock music which is more of a feeling? It’s really useful having the classical background especially when you’re arranging things like harmonies, and like for the entire song once you’ve got the melody you can then arrange everything based on the level of knowledge and experience that you had from a classical background. We all work kind of logically because of that, like working out chords and riff progressions. And lets not forget that classical music used to evoke emotion when that was the only music around and today pop music and rock music does exactly the same. So how do you evoke emotion in your songs when you’re writing given that you are classically trained? Because we’re all highly emotional when we write songs. But I think there are different ways and approaches to writing songs, like sometimes we’ll start with a riff and then build around it and then other times I will have an idea in my head, compose it all on piano and take it to the rest of the guys and say ‘this is what I want you to do’ and the great thing about being sisters is that you can be brutally honest with each other. So being four sisters and being brutally honest with each other, how does that work when trying to run a band? It can be hard work. But I think it does help strengthen relationships. Being four sisters with only six years between us all, why would you want to go and spend three hours on a Monday evening
locked in a soundproof room arguing about songs and music when you could be out having fun having spent the whole weekend with each other anyway, this only adds to strengthening our relationships and ultimately to the benefit of the band as a unit. So what’s your fan base like? Grey-haired middle-aged men with the looks of today’s turnout at the Hawley Arms. But I think it’s quite eclectic, I think a girl can be as interested in four sisters playing rock dance music as well as their boyfriend wanting to come and have a look for the same kind of inquisitiveness. We all grew up listening to bands like Fleetwood Mac, Lady Gaga and AC/DC and we are all big fans of the Carpenters; when we write you can’t help but have the same feeling as that type of music, so our fan base is broad. Do you find any barriers being an all girl band? Not really. The hardest part sometimes it’s a when you turn up for a sound check and there’s four boy bands and guys on the mixing desk and they say “oh you’re the band” and we say “yeah, we’re the band”. But I guess sometimes it plays to our advantage because it’s very difficult to stand out as a four piece male band and we stand out automatically. What can we see published soon? We’re hoping to get our EP out before the end of the year and we would like to record an album if there’s anyone with the money to support us! If you had a message for Sonic Shocks readers, or would it be? Like with every question many ideas were presented, all were considered, and finally the winning final words of wisdom to our lovely audience were… Form a family band and listen to our shit – please. And while the first part might not be an option for many of us, these girls 'shit' is definitely worth listening to!
Interview and photos by Mark Fletcher
Prior to their 6:45pm slot at Proud during Camden Rocks Festival, vocalist, Dante Gizzi, guitarist Guiliano Gizzi and drummer Paul McManus - aka Gun - catch up with Mark at the Gilgamesh press area. Let’s talk about your new album Frantic. It’s been out since March. The second single is going out early March and will be double ‘A’ side. Record sales have been consistently good and we charted the first week of release and are really happy at the moment. We have a tour coming up too in October which will be our main British tour and we’re really looking forward to playing those shows. We also get good reception across Europe especially in Spain and Portugal so we’ll be heading there too. What’s been the root of your influences for the new album? We’re the sort of band that whatever we write is pretty diverse and we listen to everything from Rock to pop funk and I was getting into some of the 1930s chain gang blues which is kind of gospel and I love mixing that kind of music with rock. When people see us we are a rock band but when we record we try to experiment and stretch ourselves and come up with something different all the time. Your music is quite diverse. How do you manage to maintain that variety? I think it’s really important to be diverse as a band and it’s always been a Gun thing since we began. I’ve always loved the idea of making songs sound different, but there is an element that maintains the similarity in what we do; whether that be through the sound of an album throughout or just in the vocals there is an element of sounding the same although the songs
are quite diverse. When you listen to bands like AC/DC or King Crimson there is a sound that you recognise. The biggest one for me is Queen: you listen to Queen songs and they are all different, however when you hear a Queen song you instinctively know that its Queen. So whilst you can have diversity across your music there are elements that are the same. We tend to focus on the melodies and fitting in the hooks but ultimately we’re a band that have an edge because we are a guitar band but equally we are difficult to pigeonhole. You guys have been around for 20 odd years, this before the age of the internet and social media etc. How have you had to adapt to the change in culture because of technology? As you say, 25 years ago you had to physically purchase a record from a record store from places like HMV; now with the whole social media, internet, Facebook, and iTunes, it is a totally different place but that is where the industry is at now. Individually we are doing our best to grasp that change and to meet the demands brought on by them. Fortunately for us we have a very good team around us to help and to understand the technological elements. You need to formulate how to get your message out there because it’s like every band now he’s running their own radio station with things like Twitter, Facebook, websites, etc. But it’s also amazing because every single day when we wake up we can instantly engage with people. So what do you think of teenagers, and adults to a degree, that can listen to music over the internet legally, for free, and are effectively diminishing and income stream for bands? The way I see it is that this income stream 25 years ago was lost with a lot of the peripheral elements like performing rights, agency fees, record company fees, production fees and now the model is very different and just because some guy in Silicon Valley has come up with an idea to distribute music electronically doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing. People want bite-size pieces of music now and we have to listen to the customer whatever industry we are in. So if that’s what the customer wants then why not? What we focus on is engaging our customer by being in touch with them, connecting to them so they are more inclined to attend our live performances, they are more inclined to purchase merchandise even though we may be earning less from physical music sales. You have to listen to your customer and adapt accordingly and I believe we do that. In terms of your line up you’ve had a few changes over the years, are you steady now? It feels like a steady ship now. But we’ll soon see. With all the line ups we’ve had this feels like the best one we’ve had in terms of everyone getting on with each other. 25 years ago it was very easy to think “this is it, everything is fine” but it’s equally easy to take your mind off the game and that’s when people start to drift which is no good in a band where everyone needs to pull together. What’s your message for Sonic Shocks readers? Thanks for supporting us thus far, we hope you continue the journey with us and we hope to see you at one of our shows towards the end of this year. Thank you.
Before yet another electrifying set in Camden, Lawrence Case and Ash Moulton find the time to catch up with Mark Fletcher on what’s happening in Voodoo Vegas’ world… It’s been a year since your last appearance at Camden Rocks, what’s happened in 12 months? Quite a lot. One of the main things was Mick, our old guitarist, left the band. We’ve been playing a lot around Germany, Holland and Belgium, we’ve also been playing with Status Quo in Europe. We’ve also done a lot of writing ready to do some recording. Why are you focused a lot on European countries rather than the UK? We get received better basically. We played four gigs in the Leamington spa area that attracted like 50 punters. We do four gigs in Germany and they’re completely sold out. Plus the fact I feel we get treated better in Europe than we do in the UK. We get paid more, we get fed more, and we get more drinks! That’s not what you do it, but it all helps in the running of your band. The Europeans also seem far more into their music and I guess that’s reflected in that we sell more merchandise. And lets not forget, Europeans like British bands and American bands, all of their local bands tend to sing in English anyway. Tell me about this coming album… We’ve been talking to Will Meyer, and we’ve been out to Madrid and recorded five tracks for an EP with him that will be out in September and after that we’ll probably be doing another crowd funded album around February or March. So what does a producer like Will do for a band like Voodoo Vegas? He polishes you, he pushes you, and it’s like one song where we play something, as an intro, he changes it to be the main chorus because he says that’s the hook of the song. Then we end up changing the whole song and writing around it. Then you feel like it’s not that same song at all. He also focuses on each instrument and ensures you work as a unit and not as individuals. So what influences your music and lyrics? Mainly things that happen in the band. Like a few weeks ago we were driving through Belgium and saw something quite nasty on the road, so we ended up writing a song about it. But sometimes a song can take five minutes to write from start to end and then you can be at the
other end of the scale and end up working on a song for months and it’s like trying to polish a turd then you have to bin it. There appears to be more bands in Camden Rocks Festival this year with girl members, and you’re no exception. Do you find having a girl in the band is any different to being five piece male oriented band? Not really, sometimes you end up having to pay for an extra hotel room but other than that I don’t think so. I think she’s an accomplished musician as the rest of us really. Sometimes you’ll get guys come up most wanting to talk to us because we’ve got Meryl in the band; it’s not just the guys, you get women and young girls coming to chat with her because she’s acting as a inspiration. How did you get on playing with Status Quo, did you get to speak with the band much? No not really, Francis Rossi was taking the piss out of Jonno our drummer and they were jealous of our hair because now none of them got any hair but it was good fun! We didn’t get to spend much time with Quo. Once they finish their set, they were off, they no longer have the need to hang around after a gig. Any final message to our readers? Keep your eyes peeled, we have a lot going on. It doesn’t look like it but we have been very busy and there’s some great music coming soon!
Interview by Matt Dawson
It’s always good to catch up with the hard working Malefice and as James and Andy make clear what their future strategy holds, how touring is the key and why Everlong by Foo Fighters seemed to follow them around on one tour! How was the Download crowd for you guys? Andy: Given the weather it was awesome, couldn’t have asked for a better turnout. James: it’s quite funny now looking back at the pictures of us on stage, there’s a lot more of a crowd then I noticed! Andy: We were watching some of the footage back in our dressing room and it did not feel as crazy as it actually was and we’re chuffed! Gravitas has been out for quite some time now, how do you feel the reception has been for it? Andy: Overall good, it’s been a bit quiet maybe. James: It’s hard to judge because it was a free download. Andy: When you release stuff just digitally it’s hard to gauge but the feedback was great, people liked that we went back towards how we used to sound, we kind of strayed away from that with
V so we made a conscious decision to bring it back to the riffs and grooves that make Malefice what it is. James: Being technical but to a point where we can enjoy ourselves as well, we’re not just sitting down looking at our drums or guitars going ‘what the hell am I playing next?!’ kind of thing. Andy: Ultimately we’re just trying to write music that we like now we enjoy that hopefully others enjoy. You also toured recently with Exist Immortal… Andy: Sick band, one of the most professional bands we’ve toured with. James: Every night they’d bring a crowd as well. What are the plans when it comes to a new album? James: The talks have actually started up on the last tour, when we made Gravitas we made a decision that we wanted to just do EPs, four bangers that we know we can play live, no filler. Andy: With EPs you can churn them out quicker so you can stay relevant which is good because if you spend two years out a time to release an album it will affect your momentum, we’re thinking stick to EPs, four bangers. If you write an album you risk writing filler we don’t want to do that. Next for this band – probably another EP, same sort of sound as Gravitas, darker, more mature sounding. James: Always more mature! [laughs] There is discussions of an album possibly as well Andy: I would like to do an album but logistically, finically it’s hard to do an album these days. Any further touring this year? James: We’re always open for whatever touring gets thrown our way. Andy: There will be a few more tours. James: The problem is over saturating areas – people have no interest because they saw you like a month ago whereas if you do it drip by drip you keep people waiting. It makes touring more enjoyable as well… Andy: That’s our priority these days – having fun on tour, we don’t want to live a rockstar lifestyle – we just want to go out with the boys and play some riffs, have some drinks afterwards. What have you been listening to while on tour? Andy: Gojira quite regularly. James: We saw them last year at Sonisphere. Andy: Tightest band I’ve ever seen live, we’ve all normally got our Ipods in. James: Some of us listen to Jamiroquai, The Streets, Phil Collins… You’re the second band to bring him up! James: When you’re in the tour bus and you go into venues you’re surrounded by metal constantly so it’s nice to have a funky break! I get you on that one! James: For some reason we were followed by Everlong everywhere we played! Any final words? James: Just get to every gig you can. Andy: Support live music, underground metal, riffs, bands and music. Simple as that really!
Interview and photos by Mark Fletcher
It’s quite an achievement filling up the Jazz Cafe at midday: Walkway did just that with their set at Camden Rocks! Was it because the stylish North London venue had never seen a guitarist go on stage barefoot or is there more to it? We think, shoes or not, these vintage-looking 20something have what it takes, and we’re obviously not the only ones: the young brokers have already supported the likes of Status Quo and The Darkness and there’s more coming… Lets start with an introduction… James: Hi, my name is James and I’m the lead guitarist Why no shoes? James: I just prefer it that way, it’s more comfortable. Joe: I’m Joe and I play drums. With shoes. Chris: I’m Chris and I’m lead vocals and rhythm guitarist. I had shoes. Alex: I’m Alex, I’m the bass player and I also had shoes. Well all the chat about shoes completely disproved my theory that the name ‘Walkway’ had anything to do with why James wore none on stage. I’ll never make a detective! I suppose I’ll have to find out the old fashioned way… Tell me a little about Walkway. Chris: We’ve been going since mid 2008 and me, James and Chris have been together from the start. James and I are brothers, and Joe joined us at the end of 2012. We’ve been going from strength to strength and play over 100 shows each year trying to take it as far as we can. On the journey we’ve supported The Darkness, Black Stone Cherry, Status Quo – who we’ve been asked to support again this year, so it’s all going very well.
So what’s the secret to your formula? Chris: Hard work and determination to be successful really. We’ve had a few changes in drummers over the years but I think that is down to trying to find the right person really and Joe was struggling finding a band like us. We gelled immediately and now we have the right formula. What do think the issue is with finding drummers? This seems to be a fairly common thread for bands with line up difficulties. Chris: We now see why Spinal Tap take the mickey out of drummers so much! Joe is our seventh drummer in seven years and it’s been a struggle to find the right one but it has lead us to where we are and everything happens for a reason. How does it feel playing with the big names that you have already mentioned in such a short term of existence? Chris: We’re over the moon about it and the band is the number one priority for us and to be in a position to supports bands that we look up to like Status Quo, who our Dad grew up listening to, and The Darkness especially as we’re from Norfolk as they are only an hour away from us is a great honour. How did you get these slots? Chris: Well we got the Darkness one through contacting Thetford Forest which is where they played and we kept on and on until we got it basically. None of it is through an agent. Quo we got via our publisher and it’s like a lot of situations, when you are introduced to people like this, they can open doors for you and the hard work and determination pays off. It’s like today really, we had a great crowd at the Jazz Café. I think some of that payoff is down to the music too. You have a definitive style that has a familiarity about it. What’s the secret to what how you compile it? James: Sort of seventies and eighties rock is the backbone behind it and our influences of Van Halen, Led Zepplin, AC/DC moulded in with our own touch on top. How do you manage to make it sound different? James: Chris has a very unique voice which sets us out quite a lot from other bands. Chris: We’ve always said that we don’t want to be just another seventies or eighties throw back especially with the music industry where it is nowadays, you need to have more of a modern feel to it. There maybe plans for rapping then at some point? Chris: There could be an Aerosmith ‘Walk This Way’ style track at some point yes! In terms of material being released, tell me about what you’re doing. Chris: We released our first album in 2012 and Streetwise is our second album and it was released last September. We’ve had a lot of interest in the second album wherever we have been which is great because the village where we came from almost got downgraded to a hamlet recently so if such a small place could have someone successful associated with it, then we’ve done well. What have you got in terms of festivals this year? We got the Crush Fest in October with bands like Nazareth playing, we have something at Keele University which is part of the Fringe Fest called Krap Karnage and we’ve got plenty of bike rallies. We did one recently in the Lincolnshire with is 10,000 to 15,000 crowd from all over Europe. What’s next for Walkway? Were back in the studio at the end of July to record our new single. We’ve go the Quo tour dates coming up including Scotland in August, and in addition to that we’ve got lots and lots of gigging. We’re hoping that the new single will be our breakthrough track to get us on national radio and exposed to other industry avenues etc. because we play in front of thousands of people each year so we need to be able to reach them all at once really. What’s your final message for Sonic Shocks readers?
Check us out. Everything can be found at http://www.officialwalkway.com
If you ask any fan of Punk Rock music ‘Who were the originators?’, I would say about 50% of people would answer The Sex Pistols and at least another 30% would probably go with the Clash. However, there will always be a smaller minority who will plum for England’s most horrid export since the days of Marmite: I refer of course to the Damned, a band that never quite seems to fall apart at the seams, often despite the intentions of the band members themselves. A new documentary by american filmmaker Wes Orshoski, the man who brought us the infamous Lemmy movie, now goes inside the world of a band divided by dispute, yet majestically forever considered one of the most important alternative acts of the last 39 years and counting. It all started with current Damned drummer Pinch calling Orshoski to ask if he wanted to film their 35th anniversary tour. After the Lemmy movie, Wes was on the look for a band that ‘had been a part of something that changed music’ and for the first time he saw the Damned as exactly the band he was looking for. ‘I’d rather do a movie if that’s ok’ he replied. Hosting a Q&A with Rat Scabies after a sold out screening at Hornsey's Arthouse in North London, Orshoski says: “When I
first started working on the film it was kind of awkward when I first approached Rat and as you can see in the film things are split between the camps; I think Rat and Brian were very untrusting of me so I had to go and pinch myself. I drove six hours straight from Newcastle to London in rain just to meet and talk for the first time with these guys. It’s funny because I’ve had a great day with Rat, the film’s over, the camera’s off but that day he was keeping me more than an arm’s length. I consider Rat a friend now, but at first as you can see no one really trusts someone coming from that camp”. Rat continues: “I didn’t really want to have a film made about me because it was going to be just a lot of ‘he said, they said, I said’. We all watch music documentaries on BBC4 and it’s a bunch people going ‘yeah he was great, came in and did the first take, he was fantastic’ and The Damned were never about that. We were kinda a soap opera in our own right: the gossip and the speculations, the pseudo scandal that went with us was also a thing that endeared the public to that band. If someone was going to make a film about it, what was vital was that The Damned was made up of component parts,
individuals that made up a greater mass, that’s why we had the lineup changes: The Damned continued no matter who was in it… What I felt was important when the film was made was that should be captured. When Wes said he was making a movie I was like ‘why don’t you fuck off?!’ and now I’m very glad that you did [make the movie]. I’m very pleased that acts as – for me - a full stop of my career in the Damned, whatever that was, but now I’ve got what on American cop shows they call “closure” for the whole fucking thing. And I’m pleased with how Wes managed to condense thirty years into two hours though it didn’t seem that long!” Wes: “Rat wasn’t the only one that told me to fuck off, I reached out to a lot of people. Jake Riviera – one of the heads at Stiff Records - was in my top five of non-band members, he was the Malcolm McLaren of The Damned; he blew me off then I sent another email a few months later saying what if I put together some footage for you and he said fuck off – punk rock lives! I met him last night, took a selfie with him and he said I think a selfie is the least punk rock thing you could do!” Talking about the early days, Rat remembers there was a great deal of respect among people in the band. “When we did the first album with Brian, he wrote all the songs and even though Dave didn’t write a lyric he designed the artwork, everyone in the band played a role, it was easy to divide everything up which is what we did; the animosity was something that was happening when people views weren’t taken seriously” After his close and personal experience on both sides of the current barricade, Wes believes
Sensible and Rat would take an hour to repair that bond: “they’re so similar… Dave and Captain try and avoid confrontation - the strongest member in the band right now is Pinch, he’s the motor… but when I show Rat some footage, he sees Sensible and he smiles. There’s still a warm spot for Sensible, they’re still a part of each other’s lives because they were there at the most important”. Rat doesn’t seem too convinced about this one hour deal, but he doesn’t deny the importance of Damned and the Captain in his life: “He was my best mate and we both came through from being in Croydon, the first time we went on an aeroplane was when we went to New York and then suddenly we’re also surrounded by Germans and we’re sitting in a group of twenty starting to attract attention and I’m thinking ‘this is fucking mental, I’m just a bloke with a drum kit!’” Asked about the biggest misconception about The Damned, Rat Scabies has no doubts: “Back then it was that people didn’t listen to our music, the fact our image of chaos and destruction seemed to be far greater than the records we made. I used to find that incredibly frustrating because people didn’t get to hear what we actually did… today that’s kind of reversed thankfully”. The Damned are credited with the first ever Punk Rock single ever released back in 1976 and next year will celebrate 40 years of fun and games with an anniversary show at London’s acclaimed Royal Albert Hall… Quite a journey, making “The Damned: don’t you wish that we were dead” a must-see for music fans of all ages. Usually, typical Damned fans (if there is such a thing) are split into 2 camps: on one side, those who love the pure anger of the band’s early days, when they were incapsulated with the relentlessness of guitar genius Brian Jones and the chaos of Rat Scabies behind the kit; the other camp have seen their heroes evolve through numerous line up changes and, more noticeably, a career urge to really push their creative flares to new and unexplored sound and image. Gone may be the days of spit and anarchy; however, after the storm, a band of genuine credibility still remain, and they are still more than worthy of your attention. Captain Sensible once said that "The damned is a wonderful thing, and should always continue”: how right he was, and with Dave Vanian still sounding as magnificent as ever, why the hell not…
A few days after going back in time with Orshoski’s fascinating insight, we get to see the Damned of today at Camden’s Roundhouse; to the delight of the many, they return to London for a night of fun and jollies. I always think that you can tell a lot about a band by the crowd they attract, and with a career rapidly approaching its 40th year, The Damned still attract a multi generational
audience. Ranging from the old school crowd of ’76 to the youth of today, all the best freaks make an effort for a night like this and few leave unfulfilled. Damned mainstays Vanian and Sensible charm the crowd with the usual between-song banter. The whole band sound in tip top form, swaying from tune to tune, and reminding all in attendance of just how many great tunes this band have.
Songs like New Rose and Ignite sound as fresh as the day they were written,and Nasty (dedicated to the late Rik Mayall) brought a rapturous response from all. Even Eloise, a song I personally hate, has its own unique charm on a night like tonight. A Damned gig is always a party and, with a 40th anniversary to celebrate next year, tonight is one hell of a preview. 8/10. Article by John Morgan & Cristina Massei - Q&A transcription by Matt Dawson The Damned vintage black & white photos by Paul Roundhill/The Rock'n'Roll Museum Roundhouse live photos by Cristina Massei - Rat Scabies and Brian James by Wes Orshoski Screening and other info about "The Damned: Don't You Wish That We Were Dead" are available at damneddoc.com, twitter @DAMNEDMOVIE and www.facebook.com/
GAY PRIDE IS COMING TO IBIZA By Nelly Loriaux
With thousands of people taking the streets of London for the annual Pride parade, the LGTB community is already well on its way to celebrate in style. And the fun doesn't stop there. Next comes Madrid and for the first time IBIZA. From 8 till 12 July, the rainbow flag will give the white isle a new look as well as bring back the ‘colour’ that has been lacking of late. Starting with a stunning gay parade on the 8 , the celebration will follow with a combination of daytime and night time cultural events and th
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musical acts from exhibitions, workshops and parties in megalicious clubs like Ushuaia, Space and Amnesia - to name but a few - that will ensure no stones are left unturned. Ibiza Gay pride will also present a 12 hours nonstop partying HOT MEN PARTY ‘The Zoo Gets Wild’ at Benimussa Park, with 4 dance floors hosted by producers such as Beef (Tel Aviv), Cox ( Milan), Into The Tank (Madrid), Kluster (Madrid), Megawooof! (London) and Madbear (Madrid) among others. Full line up can be found at www.ibizagaypride.es With an estimated attendance of 50.000 people from 50 countries over 5 days, this is a first edition not to be missed.
By Sophia Disgrace Burlesque! Welcome to your one stop drop, for all the news on the best burlesque nights, in the capital and beyond! Im Sophia Disgrace, I've performed across the U.K as well as internationally, everywhere from festivals to the most exclusive clubs. I perform in a Neo Burlesque style and incorporate elements such as angle grinding into my routines. You could say I like to shake the audience up a bit and keep 'em on their proverbial toes! Burlesque - or 'the art of tease' as it's also known - first rose to prominence in the 1950s; in recent years it's enjoyed something of a revival, with stars such as Dita Von Teese helping to popularise the scene once again. London as ever is at the fore front of this movement, which is both alluring and inspirational for men and women alike.... This Month let’s hear it for the boys, as I delve into the (not so!) covert world of BOYLESQUE! The phrase 'Male striptease' conjures up images of permatanned, buffed up Adonis types, feeding their kegs to gaggles of baying females. Recent years have seen a surge in male burlesque artists, who are replacing the sleaze with the tease - not a moment too soon I say! Heres a 'lil run down of this rapidly flourishing scene....
Š Rustylicious Mehta
Some Key players Dave The Bear Lovely Dave is a London based boylesque artist. He's also an accomplished singer,compere and according to his website 'Sexual beast' oo-er!! His acts pay homage to any number of pop culture staples, from Diet Coke to Beyonce and Jessica Rabbit. He has performed at various high profile events and is a regular at the capital's infamous Proud Cabaret. Expect lashings of camp humour and salty innuendo from the inimitable Mr Bear - cute and cuddly he ain’t! www.davethebear.com Lou Safire Vaudevillian maestro Lou has an enviable set of skills at his disposal, including pole dancing, lego walking(?!), aerial hoop, fire performance and of course the odd bit of burlesque! Described as being like 'Queen Victoria on Ketamine’, this is one boylesque star you don't want to miss! Lou has been performing since 2008 and encapsulates his style as ‘Unusual, with a bohemian streak'. Check out his next gig here www.lousafire.com Joe Black I've had the pleasure of performing alongside Joe on a number of occasions and throughly enjoyed his one of a kind cabaret shows. His work incorporates wicked satire, musical comedy and dark eroticism, to heady effect. He has performed across the world, with artists such as The Tiger Lillies and Eddie Izzard to name drop but two! A filthy drag princess, with contouring skills that would put Kim Kardashian to shame, find out just who the hell Joe Black is here www.misterjoeblack.com The show to see Boylexe at The Shadow Lounge, Soho, London Since its first outing way back in 2012, Boylesque extravaganza 'Boylexe' has made quite a name for itself. Billed as a night of riotous 'Cabaret and Cock(tails)' - their words not ours - expect only the very best in all male burly entertainment.To date they have sold out more than 40 jam packed shows, full to the brim with stunning drag starlets, saucy burly shenanigans and lashings of boylexe goodness! Tickets are from £15.00, please refer to their official website for further information and booking- www.boylexe.co.uk And remember kids… Glitter and feathers ain't just for the gals.....! XOX
Sadly this year it has not been possible for Sonic Shocks to offer the usual photographic coverage for reasons beyond our control and we had to cancel the planned special issue.
Matt Dawson’s main event review - sorry, no pictures! The summer festival season – at the very least for fans of rock and metal – has been kicking off nicely for over a decade with a trip to the grounds of Donington Park; 2015 was no exception, even if forebodingly the rain equivalent of the Sword of Damocles was trying to spoil some of the fun. Thankfully this shows no signs as At The Gates take to the main stage: a refreshing extreme edge to Friday, the chance to hear Death And The Labyrinth alongside the classics such as Blinded By Fear and Slaughter Of The Soul (with a crowd shouting GO! as loud as they can); it’s great to see the diversity of Download’s lineup genre wise shine through this. Even more so when it’s time - to quote MC5’s eponymous hit – to kick out the jams as Clutch take to the stage: Neil Fallon showing throughout his appreciation towards the fans ,and the crowd reciprocating by grooving along to the high energy sounds of D.C Sound Attack, One Eye Dollar and as The Mob Goes Wild hit – well it’s not very difficult to guess how those watching go! Now we come to the triple threat for Friday: Five Finger Death Punch, Judas Priest and Slipknot… It’s always been interesting to see how Five Finger Death Punch have grown on the festival stage and it has to be said that this one at Download 2015 was probably their strongest set to date. Ivan Moody starting defiantly with Under And Over It as everything sounds tight around him; as the set takes a nice mix of their catalogue with a nod towards what they see as the next generation of metalheads, there’s a feeling that their show at Wembley later this year is going to signify something special especially after this particular night. We then get a great legends set from the mighty Judas Priest – all members are in fine form tonight: Richie Faulkner again putting anyone that still doubts his role to shame, but of course there is the presence of the Metal God in Rob Halford to consider as he still hits the high notes for the likes of Painkiller, bringing out the motorcycle for Hell Bent For Leather and even busting out Turbo Lover – which made the attendees that appreciate the underrated Turbo album VERY happy indeed. By this point it’s fair to say we know that a set from Slipknot is going to be energetic, intense and memorable – especially when you remember that this band has the likes of M.Shawn Crahan and Corey Taylor as part of it. Corey’s captivation of the audience is noticeable – the way you can see the mosh pits starting to brew among the crowd through newer cuts like Custer and The Devil In I prove the strong material of Vol 5 and of course you then have the tracks that you know are essential, right down to the crouch and jump moment during Spit It Out (which probably gets bigger every single time!) bringing the first day to a good close.
By Saturday the rain has fallen but while it may have dampened people’s clothes it doesn’t dampen the spirits of the faithful as Mallory Knox bring positive energy – Mikey Chapman wishing he could be with the crowd in solidarity – and prove why they’re one of the brightest UK bands in quite a few years as the crowd sing along joyfully. The positive vibes continue later on as A Day To Remember do their biggest UK festival show to date and do it with style by coming on to Also Sprach Zarathustra – continuing in a sense the pro wrestling theme that Download had picked for the weekend, another factor being Kevin Skaff’s choice of t-shirt; what follows is their fun mix of pop-punk/hardcore and even a cover of Oasis’ Champagne Supernova, it’s clear that their ascendancy is going to continue for quite a while. Now we come to Faith No More’s return to Download: a set that could possibly be called the best of the day, Mike Patton being the charismatic showman as he increases tension to opener Motherfucker, one minute then during their cover of Easy allowing a fan on a stretcher to sing with the likes of Epic and Caffeine in-between. There’s also that sense of improv and surprise you get from a Faith No More gig - the sudden funk version of Midlife Crisis halfway through the performance then back to the regular version, plus an extra cover of The Brothers Johnson’s Strawberry Letter 23 before the climatic We Care A Lot. Sunday kicks in with more of a classic rock twist, and with the likes of Tremonti and Blackberry Smoke an appreciation of their peers. Billy Idol walks onto the stage and it feels like the 80s all over again; the set is mostly comprised of greatest hits ranging all the way back to his days in Generation X and, as Rebel Yell ends it, there can be heard one of the loudest singalongs of the weekend – next time many hope there will be more, more, more! Following Tremonti earlier in the day we get another member of Alter Bridge taking to the stage as Myles Kennedy joins Slash and, as much as the new material is good, again the crowd are here to hear the GnR classics: Sweet Child Of Mine, You Could Be Mine, Nightrain, Paradise City and even a cover of Velvet Revolver – which was enough to keep the smiles going. As the weekend closes with the pyro/showmanship double shot of Motley Crue and Kiss it is made clear that, while the spirit of classic rock is alive and well, there’s also plenty of fresh blood out there to keep it alive for many years to come – it’ll be intriguing to see what 2016 and beyond will bring.
Matthew Higgs’ 4 top moments from the tents, with pictures! Babymetal surprise After an already killer set by Dragonforce, the crowd were to be in for an extra unexpected treat. Joining up with Herman Li and co. to perform 'Give Me Chocolate', Babymetal took the stage by storm. Say what you like about the trio, their music is catchy and their energy boundless. There's something special about seeing a tent full of dirty metal heads trying to sing along in squeaky Japanese.
The Darkness attacking the stage Arriving through the crowd with an army of fully clad viking warriors, the Darkness haven't lost any of their spectacle. Now sounding tighter then ever the band put on a brilliant set of hits. It's easy to forget just how many killer tracks they have! Welcome back guys, I didn't realise it, but I frigging missed you!
Evil Scarecrow have crabs A crowd full of inflatable crabs can only mean one thing, Evil Scarecrow. Pulled on stage upon a rocking horse their show was start to finish madness. Beautiful, beautiful madness. Robot's popping out of amps, discarded rubbish flying in the air and of course some sideways movement, the band offered the perfect festival set.
Andrew WK starting the party When it's time to party we will party hard, party hard. Who cares if every song sounds like a variation of the same riff, Andrew WK knows how to give the crowd what they want. A packed out tent couldn't get enough of rock's favourite motivational speaker.
All pictures Š Matthew Higgs, all rights reserved. Please check our website and social media for more of Matthew's Download shots coming soon!
Summer festivals in huge fields in the middle of nowhere are an institution in the UK. I somehow always failed to see the fascination of spending 3 days covered in mud queuing hours for the toilet after too much overpriced watered-down lager; one day however, with the option of jumping on the Piccadilly Line and get a hot shower in my very own bathroom, for the right line-up, I can face. For all those with a bit of a tent allergy like me, British Summer Time in Hyde Park once again ticked all the boxes this year, with a spectacular and diverse line up spread over 2 long weekends and much more in between. During midweek, BST Hyde Park had plenty to offer to Londoners and tourists alike. Headliners Rich Hall, Ed Byrne, Jim Jefferies and Ardal O’Hanlon sent everyone home with a smile over the three days of top comedy from 22nd to 24th June. Also in the line up were Marcus Brigstocks, Russell Kane, Katherine Ryan, Jamali Maddix, Andrew Maxwell, Stephen K Amos, The Boy With Tape On His Face to name but a few. Family events included a record-breaking Frozen singalong, a Lego-Jurassic World gaming area, sports and activities. Movie fans were kept entertained by over
5 themed nights for the Film Festival in collaboration with SNOG; they kicked off with a Pride warm up evening. For those daring types, BST invited Gorilla Circus Flying Trapeze School, the only outdoor flying trapeze school in the UK. Foodies were happily exploring the new Street Food Market, with all sorts of stalls and healthy options. A breathtaking view of the London skyline from 100ft above ground was available thanks to the Barclaycard Better View Platform, and back at sea level colourful dancers and costumes offered another treat for the eye while triggering an irresistible need to boogie. However, the main course of this yummy summer bonanza was the eclectic music line up, led by rock legends The Who, 90s Britpop icons Blur and The Strokes’ welcome London return after 5 long years. The Strokes headline the first night on June 18th. Before them, BST showcases a rich array of talents over 3 stages. On main, Syd Arthur’ mellow psychedelic jazz compliments the gentle afternoon sunshine. From that to a darker and louder kind of psychedelia, The Wytches take the Barclaycard stage cheered by an enthusiastic crowd. But it’s the minimalistic Summer Stage that hosts today’s biggest surprise: up & coming London three-piece Yak, with their dreamy rock’n’roll and a young charismatic frontman, are today’s ‘ones to watch’. Fresh from a triple Grammy win with latest album ‘Morning Phase’ , Beck subdues the audience with a performance that leaves many wondering if this wasn’t in fact headlining material. His trans-genre setlist, hopping from year to year of his two-decades strong catalogue, showcases the broad range of musical skills and that eternal will to experiment that made him so unique. ‘I think I’m in Love’ turns into Donna Summer’s ‘I Feel Love’, and the harmonica comes out for the encore with ‘One Foot In The Grave’.
Meanwhile, on a stage not far away the Barclaycard stage - Temples steal a fat slice of the audience with their brand of psych-pop rock; after extending their popularity States-side, Bagshaw & Co bag themselves an entry in the ‘next big thing’ list despite the initial lack of radio support. Watch this space…
The Strokes are back to a roaring welcome after their 5 years absence; they put doubts to rest and fully justify their spot at the top of the bill, with a performance that gets even Alex Turner and Miles Kane dancing like nobody’s watching - or filming, in the smartphone era - right in the middle of an overexcited audience. Julian Casablancas’ showmanship has matured: he owns the stage and sends the crowd into a frenzy unleashing classics like ‘Last Night’, ‘Someday’ , ‘Reptilia’ and ‘Barely Legal’, but also more recent ‘Under Cover of Darkness’ and ‘One Way Trigger’ get a rapturous reception and leave us hoping for a new chapter in this band’s history.
Two days later, it’s time for British icons Blur to take the Hyde Park stage again, three years after their legendary performance for the Olympics. The Saturday line up at BST is even more eclectic, bringing fans everything from Iris Gold’s summery hip hop to the soulful rockabilly grooves of Kitty Daisy & Lewis, then indie rockers The Horrors, grunge alternative two-piece Drenge and the electronic experimental sounds of Metronomy. It is however ‘Blur Day’, and Damon Albarn certainly knows it.
Smiling and jumping about like an overexcited child, Albarn proposes tracks from Blur’s latest album ‘The Magic Whip’ together with a selection of hits which doesn’t include ‘Country House’ - and for that I will never forgive him. We do however get ‘Parklife’ complete with Phil Daniels in the flesh, the irresistible ‘Girls & Boys’, a taste of their more relaxed 1999 self-titled album with ‘Coffee & TV’ and ‘Tender’ the latter a total singalong winner - and we all get to jump and scream with our hands in the air for ‘Song 2’. With ‘The Universal’ for a closing, Blur fans leave Hyde Park happy; some in the front rows even managed to get melting icecream hand-delivered by Damon himself! What more can you ask? Move forward 6 days and it’s time for British rock giants The Who to take over. Before Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend take us for a trip down Memory Lane, there’s plenty of really good stuff on offer as always, something for every age and palate, many hopping between Hyde Park and muddy Glastonbury this weekend. Supergrass’ Gaz Coombes flies in after Glasto to play two sets and open proceedings on Great Oak (main) stage, before flying back to the swampy fields. Johnny Marr live never fails to deliver. He entertains an excited crowd (‘It’s Johnny fuckin’ Marr man!’, someone screams as he enters the stage) with a mix of Smiths classics and solo material. ‘Stop me if you think you’ve heard this one before’ fires up the short set and a singalong of ‘I fought the law’ brings goose bumps, while the audience discovers there’s more to Marr than The Smiths. On the Barclaycard Stage, Sonic Shocks darlings Vintage Trouble are
back - in between touring with The Who, Paloma Faith and AC/DC - to give us a taste of new upcoming album ‘1 Hopeful Road’ and welcome new blood to the Troublemakers’ family, their loyal, growing community of fans and friends. Their bluesy rock’n’roll has the warmth of old Motown, coupled on stage with a primitive energy that turns every gig into a mindblowing experience. See it and feel it - to believe it. We still haven’t found a single human who wasn’t converted two songs in. On the tiny bohemian Summer Stage, we’re in for a complete change of pace as much talked about hip-hop duo Sleaford Mods makes an appearance. Another act borrowed from Glasto, the Mods made headlines thanks to their subversive lyrics. They’ve actually been around since 2006 and released 7 albums to critical acclaim, but they seem to have caught the attention of the masses only recently.
Vocalist Jason Williamson was joined by Andrew Fearn in 2012. On stage Fearn is bizarrely standing there with a beer in his hand and a vacant smile on his face, making you question his role, until you notice there’s a laptop somewhere near him… Back on main, Ricky Wilson can’t stand still for a second as he leads the Kaiser Chiefs on stage, energetic as ever. Don’t change something that works just fine: with the likes of ‘I Predict a Riot’, ‘Ruby’ and ‘The Angry Mob’, the ‘Chiefs stick to what the fans know and love, delivering another fine performance that could have been a plausible headliner. Definitely today’s punters got their money worth - no wonder it’s sold out.
Another glorious ‘ex’ follows: this time it’s The Jam’s and Style Council’s main man Paul Weller. Despite the set being mostly focused on his solo work, it reaches its climax when British music institution The Jam are resurrected for a rendition of classic ‘That’s Entertainment’; this time, Miles Kane decides to join on stage. In between material from his ‘Stanley Road’ and ‘Saturn’s Pattern’ albums, ‘Start’ and ‘A Town Called Malice’ also get an airing for the nostalgia quota. The Who need no introduction. ‘You are a long way away… but we will fuckin’ reach you!’ Townshend promises the crowd before launching into set opener ‘I Can’t Explain’. A promise the legendary rockers have no problem keeping. Fans of the band have travelled far and wide to be here, some even coming from other countries; many have jumped on their Tardis and dug out their old mod wardrobe for the occasion. From ‘The Kids Are Alright’ to ‘My Generation’, ‘Pinball Wizard’ and ‘Won’t Get Fooled Again’, The Who offer the ultimate conclusion to a magnificent day celebrating British rock in all its glory. And no place on Earth could be better suited than Hyde Park. Once more BST has brought an incredible
number of top acts to a top location reachable by public transport. The whole Festival was well organised, set to facilitate the discovery of newer acts while enjoying the more established ones, in a safe but fully enjoyable environment open to an all ages crowd. Who needs Glasto… It’s a warm summer night, fans and VIPs don’t seem in too much of a rush to leave the premises; one more for the road, we’re in central London after all and the night is still young. Keep an eye on issuu.com/sonicshocks for a BST special photo issue coming soon! More images also available now on the galleries section of www.sonicshocks.com.