The Banter - December 2012 by The Banter Magazine

WE ARE AUGUSTINES AMY MACDONALD // NINA NESBITT

THE STAVES // CLOCK OPERA // LAWSON ALSO : CD REVIEWS // GIG REVIEWS // MOVIES

Reasons to We’ll show you knowledge is power. Get info on careers, housing, health, money and more.

us. We’ll put a smile on your face. Life Support for young people up to 26 years old.

We’ll keep your belly full. Exclusive discounts on eating out.

We’ll keep the money in your pocket. Further discounts on travel, driving lessons, gym memberships and much more.

We’ll keep you in fashion. Thousands of offers on the top labels. We’ll get you in. The Young Scot NEC card is valid proof-of-age.

To get these exclusive discounts, all you need to do is like us on facebook.com/ysextra Scan this code to go straight to our fan page.

youngscotextra.org

Contents

INSIDE ● www.thebanter.co.uk

6 INTERVIEW - The Staves

The Staves, Emily talks to the Banter Magazines Polly Brown

10 CD Reviews

Tht We take a look at the best recent releases in the music world

28 INTERVIEW - We Are Augustines

Daren Borzynski catches up with New York band We Are Augustines.

22 Gig Reviews

A round up of some the hottest gigs in Glasgow over the last few months.

42 INTERVIEW - Amy Macdonald

The Banter has a chat with Glasgow’s golden girl Amy Macdonald

46 Movies

28 Editorial Team

We talk to Sly and Arnie about the upcoming release of Expendables 2

A loo

Contact

Editor

Ritchie Marshall

Editorial Assistant

Polly Brown

The Banter Magazine, West Dunbartonshire CVS, Arcadia Business Centre, Miller Lane, Clydebank, West Dunbartonshire, G81 1UJ Telephone 0141 280 0115 E-Mail Us info@thebanter.co.uk Web www.thebanter.co.uk

Daren Borzynski

Advertising

Photos

News Team Maxwell Lynas Anna Gault Daren Borzynski Petra Raspel Martin Knox Laura Donaldson Natasha Reid Tony Connelly Cover Photo Daren Borzynski

0141 280 0115 For all advertising enquiries please contact us at info@thebanter.co.uk Louise Anne Geddes Lisa Boyle Sarah Moyes Chris Hay Alyce MacPherson Rosie O’Neill Heather Campbell Holly Lennon

Design E-Mail Us:

0141 280 0115 ritchie@wdcvs.com

Printing

01685 388888 Stephens & George

About Us

The Banter Magazine is a not for profit publication and working project of WDCVS registered charity number SCO32003

THE BANTER | 3

Interview

INTERVIEW THE STAVES

4 | THE BANTER

Interview

BY POLLY BROWN

012 has found The Staves mapping their upward trajectory on the road spending the best part of each month shared

equally between North America and the UK. The musical evolution of The Staves — Emily, Jessica and Camilla — has been a slow, steady process but we had a chat with Emily about their excitement over their headline UK tour and the trials and tribulations of being a in a girl band… with your sisters.

You have just released your debut album, Dead & Born & Grown, how has the response been since the release? Yeah I think its been good, Its been a kind of haze because we’ve been on tour so it’s been kind of a nice distraction from getting stuck in a kind of kelidiskope and we’ve just been working really hard but it seems to have went down really well. And yeah, our mum really likes it and that’s really important How do you feel the album differs from the EP’s you have released in the past? It really is a continuation from those, and I think what we’ve tried to do with the album is to try and introduce people to us musically and it’s a collection of songs from a few years, really, some of the earlier songs that we wrote and some of the most recent and we have tried to honestly represent ourselves. Most of it was recorded live and we really just wanted to continue on from the EP’s with the album. This is it, this is us. THE BANTER | 5

Interview Dead & Born & Grown was produced by Ethan and Glyn Johns,what was in like having your debut album produced by such an imfluential duo? ETHAN The Vaccines, Kings Of Leon GLYN The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan. It was amazing really, we were so lucky to have worked with them and to have met them and it did feel really special to us because the musical influences for us when we were growing up, so many of them were records that Glyn had produced, I mean The Eagles and The Rolling Stones and Joan Armatrading and then growing up we just became obsessed by these records and kept seeing Ethans name on the sleeve and we would just listen to Ryan Adams and then more recently Lara Marling and stuff like that and its both people influencing us from our most early music to our most recent ones and really, really good to have in the studio with us Do you have any influences when writing and recording? Is there any past or present artists who you feel have made an impact on your progress as artists? Well, it’s difficult to say because if you’re thinking about a another artist whist you’re actually creating something then I’m not sure if it’s going to work. But definitely the people we love kind of subconsciously reference their work I suppose and think “hm, what would Joni Mitchell think of this line” and things like that but, some of the artists we love come out in our music somehow, so it may be subconscious. Within the band, how does the song-writing process work? Does someone take the job of writing the material or is it a combined effort? Yeah, It really changes for each song actually. Sometimes one of us will have written an entire song and then we bring it to the table and we will kind of ‘Stave It Up’ . Sometimes we’ll just sit around and we’ll say “well I’ve got these two chords that im really playing around with” and someone will come up with a line or a theme or something and really equally we’ll all put put something together, sometimes a song is written completely accapella and then we will try and fit instruments around it. So it’s really very different for every song. Way back when, when you started gigging together as a band, you were actually called The Stavely – Taylors, then you became the band we know as The Staves – there must be a story here? Well, it’s part of our surname so it’s just an abbreviation and people used to call us ‘The Staves’ just like “you going over to The Staves house tonight?” and we would just kind of sing with our friends at parties and stuff and then we were like “oh, we should sing that song that we sung” and they 6 | THE BANTER

do an open-mic night at the Pub and so were goinna go to the Pub but we were running late so we asked our mate to put our name on the board and you have to put your name on the board otherwise you won’t get a place and he just wrote “The Staves” up there and it just kind of stuck, really. At one point we were like, maybe we should choose something cooler than that and then you start trying to think of band names and they were all rubbish so we though we’ll just stick with that. What was the transition like from doing intimate gigs in the local to becoming legitimate recording artists? It doesn’t actually feel hugely different, I mean we’re playing gigs now and there is a lot of our friends in the audience and even the fans that we have got, It feels like friends. Things are slightly easier now because we don’t have other jobs, so we can devote all our time to it and sometimes we get to do incredible things and tour in America and stuff and we have to kind of pinch ourselves, but it’s just been a lot of really hard work and it’s all just about sharing your music and experiences with people in whatever way that is and recording and putting out an album is a great way to do it and doing a gig for 100 people is great and doing a gig for 1000 people is great so it’s just different means of doing the same thing. You are obviously very close siblings, but in a band there must be moments of conflict, how do you deal with that in a civilized manner? I think being sisters is probably the key because you are very used to fighting, you’ve been doing it your whole life you, its constantly fighting and making up and squabbling and “no that’s mine” and so its very easy for us to get angry at each other or disagree with each other and voice it very openly and then kind of move past it and I sometimes think it must be hard to be in a band NOT with your family. I don’t have that level of honesty with my friends and with most of my friends, if they were irritating me I wouldn’t just say “OH MY GOD, you are so f*cking annoying!”, I would never speak to them like that but you can do that with your sisters because they are not allowed to hate you. You have supported Bon Iver on their tour in the US in the summer and in the UK in the autumn; how did that collaboration come about? Well Justin (of Bon Iver) must of heard one of our songs and we just got an email saying that we’ve been offered the tour and infact, we were in some grotty old Travel Lodge in Birmingham watching him on the Grammy’s and him accepting his award and then we read the email and we were like “WHAT?!” because we are huge, huge fans and then we went out to America and Justin and the whole band were saying how much they liked our music and we just got on really well and it was just great to be back

Interview

to do the Europe tour and we would just hang out after the shows and back-stage and everyone would just sing together and it was like “well, yeah, lets do some of that on stage as well”. It was nice to be really touring with someone because quite often you can be on tour with someone and really barely ever see them because your schedules are so different, you know, you’re on stage while they’re having dinner and they’re on stage while you’re doing an interview and you’re driving while they’re sound-checking and you can really never see them, but it was great because they really made the effort to make it feel like we were very much two bands on the road together. How was the response in the US in comparison to back home? I dunno, I mean, the Bon Iver crowd are cool, they’re real music lovers, there are very open minded and up for new music, it’s really varied every night as it’s got a lot to do with the venue. Some venues even though they are really big, can just feel so intimate and really hushed and will be totally silet and just clap after songs and just be so calm and subdued and that can be wonderful and then sometimes you can get really crazy crowds that are just going mad after every song but a bit chatty as well, so it just changes every night really.

And you are just about to embark on your own UK tour, are you excited to play the new tracks to your own live audience? Oh yes, YES! Absolutely! We’re really excited, we had a rehearsal yesterday and it just feels really good, so good. It has just been the three of us for this last tour and so it was nice to get the bands together and add a bit of drums and bass and it’s just a different kind of experience. Playing to thousands and thousands of people is great but playing to your own crowd is just the best thing and in your own country and your own space, its just amazing, we are really looking forward to it. The question everyone wants to know the answer to – what’s next for The Staves? Well, I would imagine another tour. We are going out to India for a bit to play a few gigs out there which is going to be really exciting. I have no idea what they’re gonna make of the music but that should be really good fun. Next year, we just want to travel and tour, we really are a touring band. We just want to do as much of that as we can, really. The Staves debut album Dead & Born & Grown through Atlantic Records UK is available for purchase and stream now. THE BANTER | 7

Interview

NINA NESBITT

8 | THE BANTER

INTERVIEW BY ROSIE O’NEILL

Interview

n many ways Nina Nesbitt is just a normal teenager; however, at just 18 years old, the Scottish singer/ songwriter has quite a remarkable journey to date. Nina began her career in the best way you can these days; social media. She wrote and recorded songs in her bedroom and then uploaded them onto her YouTube channel in the hope people would notice and enjoy them. “I feel very lucky. I’ve basically been writing and recording music for years. I’ve always wanted to be a singer so it’s been about getting to this point to be honest. The whole situation is pretty mental but it didn’t all happen overnight. It’s been challenging at parts.” At such a young age, it is understanding that the music industry must come over as very intimidating and overwhelming. You need to know what you want and how to get it. When asked how she thinks the music industry will affect her, Nina says: “I kind of see the world differently now. When I was still at school I lived in this bubble and then I was introduced to this, the real world. Your eyes are opened to a lot of people and so many different things that you realise not to trust everybody. I’m a strong person though and I know what I want so I’m just myself.” With such a mature head it is hard to believe Nina is only 18 years old. This becomes a little clearer however, as she claims “I have never discovered I was good at singing, I just really enjoy it.” The vulnerability and slight self-disbelief of how well she has done keeps Nina very relatable as a musician. The quirky, folk singer’s voice and image is a cross between Ellie Goulding/Diana Vickers. “I get the Ellie Goulding comparison a lot. I’m not sure if I feel that way myself but it’s a great compliment. She’s doing very well. When she first started out, I loved watching her performances. I like the idea of just a singer on stage with their guitar, nothing else going on around them.” “I don’t know who I would say my musical influences are. There’s not just one person, it’s more that over the years different things have affected me so different music has appealed to me. Like anyone I’ve went through phases. I started out loving American divas like Mariah Carey and Beyoncé, and then I moved onto Eva Cassidy. I also went through a really rocky phase. I really admire Ed Sheeran too.” Nina met Ed Sheeran at a radio gig in Edinburgh last summer, Sheeran was impressed by her talent and invited

her to support him on tour, which also led to the pair performing a duet at Shepherds Bush Empire. Another famous fan of Nina’s list is Example. He came across a stripped back, very unique version of his own song Stay Awake on YouTube. After exchanging some tweets with each other he managed to book her as his support on three of his arena tour dates. “Touring with both them was the most amazing experience. They gave me so many tips and it was good because they’re such different artists. They gave me some advice, you know, just bits and bobs about the industry. I was interested in watching them and learning how they handle a crowd.” Listening to Nina’s music, it all comes across as very honest and relatable. However, she says that it wasn’t an intention to be relatable for young people. “I wouldn’t say it was an intention. I’m normal even though I’m surrounded by craziness. The subjects I write about are normal things, things that happen to all of us. I think it’s nice that people do relate to it.” Not only does Nina have a very distinctive voice but she is generally quite musically talented. On tour she plans not to have a band and in fact play a handful of instruments herself such as; guitar, electric guitar, voice box and piano. “My tour is going to be a little different to what I’ve done before. I’m not going to have a band and I’m going to play most of my upcoming album. It’s going to really fun.” Nina’s newest single Boy, which is out now for download, is quite different to a lot of the tracks we have heard previously from the young singer. Boy is more electro pop, compared to acoustic/folky sound of The Apple Tree (another EP Nina released). “I just make my own sound depending on my feelings and what suits the song. Whatever I like I will put on it, I’m very involved. Boy is amore of an angry song so it needed more beats behind it than the other acoustic tracks. There’s also an acoustic version of it though.” Speaking to Nina you can tell she really does believe she is lucky to be where she is, she appreciates the platforms she has been provided with. “I have been given some great opportunities, but it’s just about trying to use them as best as I can.” When asked what the future holds for Nina, she replied: “A lot hopefully. I’m touring just now and my album will be out early next year, then more touring. I can’t wait for it all!” THE BANTER | 9

Music

CD REVIEWS JLS Evolution RCA  JLS have really found their stride with their fourth album ‘Evolution’. When they first found fame on X Factor they were hailed as the return of UK RnB, citing Boyz II Men as their biggest influence. However, they seemed to have lost themselves in the dance/ pop moment that has been dominating the UK charts in the last few years. They’ve enjoyed great success with their five number one singles, four MOBO awards and two BRIT awards, but they never really released anything true to their RnB roots that is, until now. For their new direction, JLS enlisted help of American producers The Runners, who have worked Rihanna, Chris Brown and Rick Ross and Midi Mafia, who have with Brandy and Frank Ocean, as well as legendary R&B hit-maker Rodney Jerkins who’s CV boasts names such as TLC, Kanye West and Beyonce. So you can see the boys are in good hands. The lead single off the album is ‘Hottest Girl In The World’. The Justin Timberlake influence is obvious but, high-notes 10 | THE BANTER

included, it’s easily the best single the boys have released yet. ‘Dessert’, a track which features the Snoop Doggmentored Tiffany Foxx, is certainly a risk for the kid-friendly band, as the four-some boast of ‘licking her whole body up’. It’s clear to see JLS are keen to appeal to an older market. ‘Hold Me Down’, which is rumoured to be the second single from ‘Evolution’, is a motivational anthem about not letting things getting in the way of your dreams. It’s a little bit cheesy but still shows off the boys’ superb vocals. ‘Have Your Way’ is a slick and polished track which is guaranteed to be on anyone’s playlist for getting ready for a night out. ‘Give Me Life’ boasts a fierce beat and funky synth. Again, would be a perfect single. JLS seems to have done the near-impossible and made an album without any “filler-tracks”. Overall, ‘Evolution’ shows a grown-up, sexier version of the JLS we have all grown to love over the years. It feels like this is the kind of music they should have been releasing all this time. This record should silence a few of their critics, and remind fans why they were so crucial to bringing back the era of the UK boyband.

LAURA DONALDSON

Music THE LUMINEERS The Lumineers DECCA  They have become one of the most talked about bands of this year. Denver based Indie-folk band The Lumineers have given us a knock-out self titled album full of toe tapping, hand clapping, percussion-y goodness. When you listen to the album track by track you realise just why they have been so successful; the music is infectious. It’s no wonder that their single Ho Hey has been so highly acclaimed by critics and fans alike. Although the album is slightly play-safe with the general sound, songs such as Dead Sea really pull at your emotions with the lyrics and makes you believe the song, which I find is really important. They even manage to create an air of old-fashioned magic in Charlie Boy and Flapper Girl with excellent piano melodies and story-telling style lyrics. The album closes with Morning Song, a slow paced song that winds down the album perfectly and allows the album to end on a high. The Lumineers album is available for purchase and download now and I advise if you haven’t thought about it yet, get it, I promise you won’t regret it. POLLY BROWN

THE CHEVIN Borderland SO RECORDINGS  The Chevin are a quartet made up of Coyle Girelli, Mat Steel, Jon Langford and Mal Taylor. The band hail from Leeds but are setting their sights on places much further. They are currently touring the world from America to Germany, even stopping to make an appearance on the famous Late Show with David Letterman, alongside Michelle Obama. Their new album Borderland has a lot of charming qualities; most notably lead singer Coyle Girelli’s ability to produce delicate vocals and melodies similar to that of The Shins. The record opens punchy and upbeat with Champion which is likely to have you sold on the band from the get-go. The standard is upheld in following songs Drive and Blue Eyes which exemplify the bands song writing ability. The Chevin’s sound has a soft folk edge, shown in Dirty Little Secret, perfect for relaxing to, perhaps in the sun where you can appreciate their carefree and enchanting sound. Slower songs Love Is Just A Game and Beautiful World draw comparisons to Arcade Fire and Muse, with Girelli’s voice stealing the show. Gospel is a testament to the bands talent not only in song writing but in producing songs that capture the listener – several songs on the album could easily be released as singles. Finally, So Long Summer brings the album to powerful close, drifting between ballad and anthem with Girelli’s voice and the bands riffs ending the album with a bang. Borderland is a brilliant introduction to huge amount of talent the band has to offer. The Chevin may still be relatively unknown but their music has the potential to make them one of the best bands in the UK right now.

HOLLY LENNON

MELLOWHYPE Numbers COLUMBIA UK  MellowHype is the duo of rapper Hodgy Beats and producer Left Brain - members of the controversial rap band Odd Future. The pair have now released their third album Numbers. Unlike Odd Future, MellowHype have produced an album that is – as the name would suggest – pretty mellow. A great strength of Odd Future is that they demand attention, MellowHype may not be as show stopping this time around but their perfected indie rap sound is still evident. MellowHype have developed a sound that is less sinister than their fellow band mates but in no way less interesting. There remains a certain haze around the sometimes 90’s sounding production –they intrigue listeners with the records dissonance and throw them into the valley of unknown. The narrative is distorted - tracks like ‘666’ take on a trance-like state whereas ‘La Bonita’ (the most ‘mainstream’ song on the album) and ‘Grill’ exemplify Mellow Hypes chilled out and feel good sound. Appearances from Frank Ocean and Earl Sweatshirt on ‘Astro’ and ‘P2’ inject star quality into the record as the duo sail by on talent only. In comparison to band mates Tyler, The Creator and Earl Sweatshirts disturbing imagery and Frank Oceans emotion and heartbreak, MellowHype have established a happier sound that carries the listener. Although not a lot of progress has been made since previous albums, the duo has played to their strengths of heavy bass lines and clever lyrics. ‘Numbers’ has all the characteristics of a MellowHype album as Left Brain and Hodgy Beats have produced chilled out but intricate sounds mixed with strong lyrics, proving once again that they are well deserved of a place in the hip hop industry of today. HOLLY LENNON THE BANTER | 11

Music

THE SCRIPT #3 EPIC  After a short spell of judging on BBC talent show The Voice, Danny O’Donoghue has returned to what he does best; making music with his band The Script. The band has released their new album #3 and don’t seem to be giving out any prizes if you can guess how many albums they’ve had so far. The Script seem to have surprised their already loyal fans with this one, it’s like indie/pop band turned hip-hop. The first single to be released from the record was ‘Hall of Fame’ featuring Will.i.am (Danny’s co-judge on The Voice), which went straight to number one. For most, the combination of artists on the track is very risky; however, they were more than able to pull it off. The song is extremely catchy and displays a slight insight into the different direction the album has taken. ‘If You Could See Me Now’, is another track on the album which catches onto the slight R’n’B vibe. Not only is this a really good song but it’s very emotive, as it was wrote about frontman Danny’s and band mate Mark’s late parents. A few tracks on the album show that Mr O’Donoghue has a new party trick, which is rapping and he’s alright at it. It’s also noticeable that guitarist Mark Sheehan has a much larger presence on the album than the previous ones; he also helps Danny out with his rapping role. The next track to be released from the album is ‘Six Degrees of Separation’. This song is the biggest reminder on the album of the bands indie pop roots. It’s a down tempo ballad that could be sung by only the truly heartbroken. Although they have taken a slightly different approach to these tracks, the band has pretty much stuck to the rule book, but that’s not a bad thing. They have always had a slightly “talky” approach to the way they sing their songs and there is still plenty of this on display throughout the album. The Script will always remain one thing within their lyrics and that’s relatable. ROSIE O’BEILL

12 | THE BANTER

GALLOWS Gallows PIAS RECORDINGS  It would be a bit of an understatement if you said this past year hadn’t been a big one for Gallows. After making two successful albums with lead singer Frank Carter, he decided to jump ship due to creative difference and form his new band Pure Love. You only have to listen to them once to see why the band couldn’t reach an agreement on the musical direction they were taking, after all his new band are pretty far removed from the music we used to hearing from Frank. So while this cloud of uncertainty hung over the band, on the other side of the pond Alexisonfire were splitting up and before we knew it Wade McNeil stepped up to the mic and was announced as the new singer of Gallows. Okay, so it was a move that was always going to split fans, especially since Wade was never even one of the main vocalists in Alexisonfire. But having given this new record a good few listens, it’s clear the rest of the band saw something in him that we didn’t at first because something has clicked between them all and it works really well. Highlights of the record include ‘Vapid Adolescence Blues’ which hits you like a bullet train, ‘Everybody Loves You (When You’re Dead)’ carries through that raw punk aggression that seems to be a recurring theme throughout the whole album. In some sense this record feels like a huge finger in the air to anyone who ever doubted they could carry on and make things work. It could be their best record yet and marks a whole new chapter for the band. I’m just glad I’m on board for the ride. SARAH MOYES MENOMENA Moms BARUSK RECORDS  An album dedicated to the maddening, rewarding, infuriating and consistently dysfunctional relationship with your mother, doesn’t sound like the best way to spend 48 minutes but when this frightening rabbit hole of a journey is heralded by Portland’s own Menomena, it’s a journey to jump into. The first album since Brent Knopf’s departure in 2010 hasn’t dented the confidence of Menomena one bit. The harsh medley of genre and instrument suck in the listener to the album and despite the heavy themes of the album they have produced a lively and interesting indie-pop offering. The track listing may seem a little dire but opening with Plummage the band introduce looped handclaps to and couple it with even paced synths. The production has been stripped back a little on this album to its credit allowing the mix of heavier guitar solos and sombre drums in Heavy is as Heavy Does to sit next to the more spirited and lively use of bass in Capsule leading onto the delightful Don’t mess with the Latexas that playfully pulls mellows the guitar riffs with sleigh bells. The dark elements of the album themes are poignantly heralded through genre busting mix of instruments that together create an essentially up beat and feisty listen whilst the strengthening song writing gives the listener a bit more depth if you need it, possibly Knopf will be kicking himself this time next year. HEATHER CAMPBELL

Music KYSHERA Made in China KONIC RECORDS  Kyshera are a three-piece band from Cardiff, Wales. Their recent album, ‘Made In China’ was released on October 1st. They have already been described as ‘warped genius’ by Radio One and have been compared to the likes of Muse, Radiohead and even Frank Zappa. Their political themes are extremely prominent. They describe their music as ‘Rock Konic’ and encourage their fans to be their own ‘iKons’ much like Lady Gaga’s monsters. Bearing all this in mind, I have to say, I can’t put my finger on them. Their album is experimental and covers a wide range of genres. Politically inspired music is hardly unique but their take on it is. If you imagine anywhere between old school Biffy Clyro and Red Hot Chili Peppers and maybe mix in some Soundgarden you may be half way there but, still, they’re too diverse. How many new artists can we say that about these days? I’m very impressed and I’m not ashamed to admit, a little overwhelmed. Their time signatures are erratic to say the least, some of their bass lines would be at home in a metalcore band and they even manage to incorporate rap at times whilst reminding me of prog-rock heroes Dream Theater…! Would I recommend this album? In a heartbeat. Is it easy listening for any occasion? Definitely not and that’s EXACTLY why I recommend it. Whether you listen, whether you seek them out seems irrelevant though. Kyshera will be the band that can’t be ignored in 2013. SARAH LOUISE KELLY PATI YANG Hold Your Horses EMI POLAND  How many musicians from Poland can you name? 1 maybe, 2 at a complete push or like me you might not be able to think of any at all. But that’s about to change thanks to Pati Yang, who is about to put her country on the musical map for the first time. Her debut record was a best seller in Poland and now she’s about to give the UK a taste of the music that’s won her so many awards in the process. ‘Hold Your Horses’ starts the record off and captivates you straight away, it’s a great upbeat track that’s laced with a catchy electronic sound and haunting vocals. While not wanting to make too many comparisons, it’s hard to listen to ‘Kiss It Better’ and not think of Florence And The Machine, especially one of the tracks she teamed up with Calvin Harris on. The more the song goes on, the catchier the chorus becomes and before you know it you’ll be singing “you kiss it better” at the top of your voice. The dark side of Pati’s music comes to life in ‘Darling’, it’s the sort of song that could easily go hand in hand with fast car chase in a movie or be the sort that spins you round the dance floor. And her punk rock side hits you on ‘ Revolutionary Baby’ with a fistful of Patti Smith attitude. It’s hard to believe someone who has released 4 albums in her native country with such success is only releasing her second EP over here. But fear not, she’s back in the studio soon recording album number 5 which will become her first full length UK release. Then we just need to sit back and watch her become a huge star on British shores too.

SARAH MOYES

TAYLOR SWIFT Red MERCURY RECORDS  Taylor Swift may have spent the last two years writing this record but it was well worth the wait as the whole album is full of punchy Taylor-esque lyrics and fun beats. The album opens with the catchy summer sound of State Of Grace, an excellent intro into what is yet to come. In the title track Red, Taylor talks of having a losing love and how the love was “burning red”, so that explains the whole Red business. Taylor has seen huge success with We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together and it’s no wonder, it’s a great track to let out all your hidden angst and have a good old sing-a-long in the process. She has explored different genres in this album, she keeps to her country roots but uses an almost dubstep influence in I Knew You Were Trouble and a huge pop influence in a lot of the other tracks and even a few slow, haunting, ballad-types. The album as a whole is excellent and shows that as an artist Taylor has grown and progressed into something quite original. Yes, most of the songs are relationship-related but who cares, it’s a great record and will have even the most sceptical-types singing along. POLLY BROWN

THE BANTER | 13

Music BOB DYLAN Tempest COLUMBIA  A man who is now on his 35th album release and still going strong, the times sure are a’changing but luckily for Dylan fans he’s back to his old ways and Tempest is more like the traditional Dylan than most of his recent albums but that doesn’t mean there isn’t any surprises up old Bob’s sleeves. This album is peppered with clever references and quotes and it seems that in his golden years Dylan is more playful than ever. Opening the album is a deceptively gentle instrumental to the track ‘Duquense Whistle’ which then leaps into an up-beat blusey song where Dylan gruff voice is the perfect accompaniment. The second track on the album ‘Soon After Midnight’ sees Dylan use a soft and sleepy melody mixed with dark lyrics. He creates a dark comedy with many of his songs, it’s somewhat of a specialty which, amazingly enough, he still manages to make sound so fresh after all these years. BAND OF HORSES Mirage Rock COLUMBIAPARLOPHONE  Adopting a superstar producer on a new record can sometimes be a tricky business, however, Glyn Johns (who has worked with the likes of The Rolling Stones and Led Zep) goes together perfectly with Band of Horses on their fourth studio album ‘Mirage Rock’. Since signing with another label on their third studio album ‘Infinite Arms’, Band of Horses have embarked on a different sound. The songs are sharper, edgier and encompass all of the different angles of a good American rock album. One can’t help but wonder if the lyrics from the upbeat opening track ‘Knock Knock’ – ‘a ramshackle crew with something to prove’ – is lead singer Ben Bridwell assessing the bands steady progress over the years and suggesting that thisrecord is their attempt to really find their feet. Mirage Rock explores a more live sound with songs ticking all the boxes – ‘Electric Music’ being the funky one, ‘Heartbreak 101’ being the lovesick ballad, the angry rock song ‘Feud’ and ‘Dumpster World’ drifting closer to the old dreamy Band of Horses sound. The record sees BoH playing to their strengths – Southern sounding up-tempo riffs and Bridwell’s hauntingly beautiful vocals. ‘Mirage Rock’ is likely to see the band name edging further up festival line ups but while it pulls in its usual devoted, niche audience, it still remains too Southern to pull in a Kings of Leon sized crowd. By adopting a more driven and determined sound, mixed with a famously good producer, it’s apparent that Band of Horses are ready to step outside their niche market and get the attention they rightly deserve. While some fans may revel in this, I for one am reaching for my Cease to Begin and Everything All The Time albums to remind myself of the Band of Horses I know and love. HOLLY LENNON

14 | THE BANTER

Like most of Dylan’s other work this album centers on similar themes, love, war and death but the interesting thing about the continuity between pretty much every album is that at no point does this album sound recycled, boring or just a lazy rehash of old material. Every new track is exactly that when it comes to a Bob Dylan album, this is a man who doesn’t do things by half measures and he never has. Undoubtedly the most interesting and somewhat strange track on the album is the album titled track which is a 14 minute long chorus-less Irish style ballad based on the events of the Titanic. His haunting cadences are almost so spot on it’s hard to imagine that he wasn’t there to experience it for himself. It’s one thing for Dylan to amaze us, if anything we’ve come to expect nothing less, but for him to continually surprise us and set the bar just that much higher; well, that is nothing short of genius. It would be hard to draw comparisons between Dylan’s earlier and great works and his later works but there is no doubt that since he released ‘Love and Theft’ in 2001 that this is probably the high point of his later works. This is Dylan at his most versatile, his lyrics are artfully created and very carefully thought out. The melodies might not be hugely complex or mind-blowing but that has always been an endearing addition in Dylan’s case, they are, none the less, charming all the same. A few people have been speculating about the fact that Shakespeare’s last play was called The Tempest and the fact that this album is called Tempest but Dylan has already quashed any rumours of this being his last album and I’d have to agree. This album sounds in no way like a goodbye. Dylan fans who’ve known him since the start and people who haven’t ever heard of him, if such a person exists, will be able to appreciate ‘Tempest’. Admittedly, it’s not an album for people who don’t care for his style of Americana with heavy doses of rail road song and blues influence with a healthy measure of country as well but you would definitely be hard pushed to find someone who could listen to this album without saying it was nothing short of beautiful.

ALYCE MACPHERSON

Music JUDAS PRIEST Screaming for Vengeance SONY MUSIC CMG  We have Judas Priest to thank for generations of influence, the leather and studs rocker look and, to this day, they are arguably the finest heavy metal band to come out of Britain. Since Screaming For Vengeance is the album that really helped them to break America and the mainstream as well as going two times Platinum so what better choice is there to encapsulate the Birmingham based rock legends? Rocking out while doing your chores has never sounded so good. When an album is remastered you expect to hear little difference but this album does sort of stand out from the crowd a bit. While it is charming to hear Judas Priest in all their screaming guitar, wailing vocals glory you can’t help but feel that the original album holds far more charm. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it and although it doesn’t ruin the original it doesn’t exactly add much either. When it comes to technical skill and musical prowess this album has it in sack fulls but that’s not anything new, it’s exactly what the original release had too so it’s tricky to pin-point what the band has added to this album to make it something fresh and exciting. Sure, it’s nice to own a piece of history and own a nice special 30th anniversary CD but at the end of the day, it usually holds true that the original is always the best and I can’t honestly say that this release is the exception that proves the rule. If you’re looking for a great Christmas present for a Judas Priest fan, or you just fancy being able to stick on the live DVD and pretend you’re back in the 80’s when rockers were real men with vocals that don’t require any auto-tune then you would not go wrong with this latest installment in Judas Priest history. ALYCE MACPHERSON

GIRLS ALOUD Ten

POLYDOR  Think back to the first time you heard Sound Of The Under Ground, did you ever think that 10 years later, countless awards and what seemed like a permanent split that we would see Girls Aloud on our screens shaking their stuff on their 2012 arena tour and releasing a compilation album with new tracks? No, is the answer. Yes, the girls are back and giving us just as much sass as ever on new tracks Something New, Every Now and Then, Beautiful ‘Cause You Love Me and On The Metro. They take us back to where they left off; catchy beats, punchy lyrics and a whole load of girl-power but have brought it all bang up to date with modern influences. I was neither sceptical nor worried that it would never be quite like the good old days, so I am pleased with the record either way, but the selection of oldies just compliments the new tracks so well it leaves you in a Girls Aloud induced stupor. Something new, which was the official Children In Need song, is a personal favourite of mine from the new line of tracks, it totally epitomises the bands not-giving-a-damn attitude. Get your ears wrapped around this record; it has been well worth the wait. POLLY BROWN

RIHANNA Unapologetic MERCURY  Taylor Swift may have spent the last two years writing this record but it was well worth the wait as the whole album is full of punchy Taylor-esque lyrics and fun beats. The album opens with the catchy summer sound of State Of Grace, an excellent intro into what is yet to come. In the title track Red, Taylor talks of having a losing love and how the love was “burning red”, so that explains the whole Red business. Taylor has seen huge success with We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together and it’s no wonder, it’s a great track to let out all your hidden angst and have a good old sing-a-long in the process. She has explored different genres in this album, she keeps to her country roots but uses an almost dubstep influence in I Knew You Were Trouble and a huge pop influence in a lot of the other tracks and even a few slow, haunting, ballad-types. The album as a whole is excellent and shows that as an artist Taylor has grown and progressed into something quite original. Yes, most of the songs are relationship-related but who cares, it’s a great record and will have even the most sceptical-types singing along.

POLLY BROWN

THE BANTER | 15

Interview

t’s not very often to go to see a band for the first time and when leaving the gig at the end you are desperate for them to come back. Just my luck that hard working, ‘New York’ trio We Are Augustines are that band and did just that. I had the chance to meet up with the band on their return to Glasgow a mere 5 months later. I don’t normally go to interview bands; I’m normally stuck behind a camera in front of the stage, so it was something that I was looking forward to, On arriving at The Arches in Glasgow, I was told that lead singer Billy had recently came down with flu and I thought ‘here we go again’. I’ve had some bad luck with bands and the flu at the Arches, having been told previously after waiting an hour or so that photo shoots won’t be going ahead. So it did come as a surprise when Billy was first in the room and already laughing at me because I couldn’t get my ipad to record properly. I just hoped that he was well enough to last for 5 minutes to get some questions done. So for all the readers out there, can you explain a little about how you got together? Billy: Eric and I met through a friend of ours; we were in a folk project together. We met through playing in a subway and eventually we got our electrified instruments. Then we started playing in a band that put out a couple of records in New York City. The band ended, but before it totally ended there was a record that was unfinished and Eric and I decided to adopt the record as our own and see it through as a different project. We put it out roughly six months ago in the United Kingdom and, here we are. How did you fit it to this set up Rob? Rob: When Billy and Eric started the project, it got to a point where they need a drummer to turn it into a band so to speak. The previous band they were in (Pela) - their drummer is a good friend of mine, we lived in the same building and he put me forward and a long story short we had an audition where we played a bit together and it worked out really well and two weeks later we were touring with The Boxer Rebellion in front of a thousand people and that was it. It’s been like that ever since, we have been on the road. If we haven’t been on the road we have been

16 | THE BANTER

INTERVIEW AND PHOTOS BY DAREN BORZYNSKI

Interview

WE ARE

AUGUSTINES THE BANTER | 17

Interview rehearsing for the last 15 months. Do you know how many gigs you have played during the 15 months? Rob: We worked it out a couple of months back that it was about 150 shows. Eric: And I think that it doesn’t include this tour! Billy: Is that roughly one show every other day? Rob: That doesn’t include any radio appearances or cool little acoustic sessions, that’s just the shows we have done. So would you say that you are one of the hardest working bands out there at the moment? Billy: I’m wondering if we could be one of the most toured American acts this year, there are some bands ‘that put records out at the same times as us, they’ve long gotten off the road and we’re still going! We have done every American festival apart from Lollapalooza, we have done T in the Park all the way to Leeds and Reading, and we’ve done Pukkelpop and a whole lot of European ones. You have a lot of experience playing with bands in Scotland, you have supported Glasvegas, Frightened Rabbit and the Boxer Rebellion in Edinburgh, so what do you think of the atmosphere at Scottish venues? Eric: To be completely honest we always shy away from talking about certain comparisons between one place and another, but I’ll say it... Playing in Scotland is hands down my favourite place to play... it really is! The other guys might not agree with me, we all have different opinions, but the last time I was here I was able to live out one of my dreams in life. There are not that many places where you get to live out a dream, so I will always look at this place with fond eyes and heart! That dream will have been the stage dive? Billy: It’s not well documented, but I stage-dived at T in the Park and almost put people in the hospital, they held me up the best they could, strong people. Eric: Rob’s going to go tonight! Billy: I think I agree with Eric, there is something very strangely similar about Scotland and least culturally, I don’t know why but I feel very comfortable here. There is a heartiness that I really enjoy and the bands you were talking about, the Scottish bands have both been great to us and I just think their music is good and their heart is in the right place. And you guys like to party really hard and there is a lot of loving going on up here! As previously mentioned you have a connection with The Boxer Rebellion, and recently at the Shepherd Bush gig, members of the band appeared with you on stage? Billy: They’re great friend of ours. Rob: We have a lot to thank them for; they took the boys on their first tour as a duo and then the next tour us as a three piece. We have become quite close, they are really nice lads and have been very helpful to us and we invited Todd to 18 | THE BANTER

play on stage with us and it was a good opportunity to get the lads up for the last song. Eric: They did something for us that most bands rarely do, they took us out on three national tours... when we didn’t have a record out, and we didn’t have a label. Many bands have to consider tickets sales and things like that, so for the Boxer rebellion to know that we weren’t going to sell any tickets, to still take us out on three national tours is incredible and we really wouldn’t be here without their support. They might tell you differently, but that’s how I look at it. Do you also have that closeness with Frightened Rabbit...? I see that you are in contact quite often through Twitter? Billy: I think when you play and you write music all the time, your listenership kind of goes down and it becomes very, very select. I like listening to old soul music and new bands when they come out, but I find the more I work on music the less space I have in my head and my ears to take on their music, fresh brand new music. The Frightened Rabbit situation, Eric and I had gone through a very difficult time before we met Rob, I was unemployed and I was sitting on the couch and there would just be evenings where there would be beer bottles all over the place and the laptop. Essentially what was happening was probably, finding my way creatively because I was in a project so long and I didn’t really know what my tastes where because it was such an arduous time, a very structured time and it opened my mind to new stuff. I don’t know how I happened across Frightened Rabbit but it was this cover called ‘set you free’, it’s just a B-side, but I thought it tremendous. Anyway, I told Eric that he should check these guys out and I really couldn’t believe it because there is some mutual connection. We were on this label with The National in Brooklyn, they signed us to their label and we put out an E.P. with them, and their producer was the same guy and so it was just really interesting to hear a band from Britain. So anyway as the music world is a lot smaller than you think, we contacted them and Scott was a total gentleman and showed up at one of our shows. We knew each other’s music and I couldn’t stop laughing and he couldn’t stop laughing because his speaking voice is very similar to his singing voice, so he’s talking and it’s like very strange man! You hear a record and it’s one of your top records of the year and then you hear this person talking in the same voice that the records in... Eric: So surreal.... when you meet someone you really admire and look up to and you hear their voice. I experienced a similar thing when we became friendly with this DJ in New York and sitting around listening to his voice is such a unique experience. Billy: Lastly the Frightened rabbit Scottish music thing, that’s what’s so exciting about it, Because of the internet, people are not being quarantined in their own scene anymore and it’s more global. It’s crazy for me to have gone to England so many times and when I go to a new place in Scotland and find a totally plugged in viral scene that wasn’t like roped off from the rest of the world.

Interview

What have been the highlights so far for the band? Was the David Letterman show quite a big event for We Are Augustines? Billy: I know we haven’t stopped yet and processed it, David Letterman was crazy and he’s been a risk taker for years now creatively, but for me it was appearing on the Tonight Show, because they didn’t put bands like us on there at all in the past, it was always saved for blockbuster type of artists like Mariah Carey and people like that, so that was very strange. We’re just finding our way around it and seeing all these faces we grew up with, listening to their music backstage being at festivals, and seeing people that have only existed on records and standing there in their human form. I was going to pee the other day and Ray Davies from the Kinks walked in, we were rehearsing right next to them, some of the Kinks were hanging out in front of our rehearsal... you can’t’ understand how crazy it’s getting! For another noticeable event, you recently covered a Bob Dylan song for Amnesty International’s Chimes of Freedom, were you invited to take part in that? Eric: They contacted us and asked if we wanted to be a part and we were touring at the time, and we said absolutely. It’s for a good cause and we grew up listening to Bob Dylan. Then a tour ended and some time passed, they said ok what song do you want to do? And the pressure started to come on, the

reality of what we just agreed to do started to kick in and they sent us a list of something like 300 songs to go through and a lot of them were already taken by other artists, so we went through the list had an evening listening to songs to figure out what we wanted to do, what we resonated with, and we chose ‘Mama, you been on my mind’. We tried to record it once and it was an absolute train wreck! The producer we were working with didn’t understand the vision that we had and it was unusable, and then we got the track back in the afternoon. Rob called his friend, who had a studio, and by the evening we were back in and we recorded the song that night, mixed the next day, and we sent it off. It was a challenge due to time, and the fact it was a Dylan song, and it’s very difficult to cover bigger artists. Is spending time doing work for charities something you believe in? Eric: When we started the project that was a core element. I’ll be completely honest, we haven’t found as many people to associate ourselves with as I thought we would, but it is nice to be connected with Amnesty International. It’s an honour! Billy: Also ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union). We did some work with them. Eric’s right, when we set out because the subject of our own record was very dear to us, and we thought we want to get behind some people, work through it. THE BANTER | 19

Interview

We did work with people, but we probably thought we could work with more. We did a really nice piece with National Public Radio (NPR) in America, it is an esteemed information source for thinking people, and they really treated us well and opened up some doors for us. I think philanthropy is totally important and we will do it the rest of our career. With the touring you have done, charity work, and playing small acoustic sessions, how have you found any time to write for your new album? Billy: You’re looking at a work in progress. I have a bunch of sketches of songs and I’ve been trying to get them done while we have been touring. We were just travelling in the van the other night and Eric played his demos that I haven’t heard before and he’s got a lot too... Jesus! We got to work through those somehow! So I think when this tour is over, we will do a very short holiday just to get rested and we will go into it, but we already did start it. A lot of your songs from ‘Rise ye Sunken Ships’ are based on personal experience, should we expect a similar feel to the album? Billy: I can’t tell you that yet, we just don’t know! It’s funny; I am noticing that record is sort of a time capsule like I was going through something. It’s funny, talking about Frightened Rabbit; their second record is pretty much like a break up record and it takes you right back to that place. I think that us taking that little break is about figuring out what place we are in. We’re just really hard working and so are our team and our crew. If there is open road to drive down, we’re going drive down it, if there are shows to sound check for and set up, we’re setting up and if there are songs to write we will write them. The watching is the thing we’re missing because we have been going so hard... but I can’t say yet! With your travels, should we expect to hear any influences from different cultures in the new songs? Eric: We actually don’t listen to rock music that much; we do a little... but not as much as people might think. It’s an easy

20 | THE BANTER

thing to say that you want to pull from other cultures, music and influences and bring it into yours. It’s a much more difficult thing to do. You’re probably not going to hear, West African guitar on the record out of nowhere, it’s not going to be that kind of influence. I hope that we can pull from a lot of different cultures of music and especially the places that we visited and experienced on tour. How that’s affected our sensibility and how we hear rhythm, melody and the importance of different musical ideas can affect culture in different ways. So we shouldn’t expect to hear any bagpipes on the next album? Billy: I love bagpipes! Eric: We opened T in The Park with bagpipes! Billy: I also think influences don’t have to be musical, I think this year we should get synced up and try to do a new look. I’m very inspired by the Norse metal scene. We want to do it! Rob: I’ve actually got my outfit on mail order! Billy: I’m looking for a cape, so if you see one... broadsword and crossbows! Eric: Upside down Kilt! Billy: I was reading today about Robert Burns, I love literature and history. It’s really inspiring. It’s funny; my mum’s grandfather is from here (Scotland), which is weird. I’ve never been to the place he is from, but Scotland - cool man! Billy: We learned today what Bawbag means! Eric: It’s much more literal than I thought. We learned another one today.... what was it? Rob: Your arse is twitching like a rabbit’s nose Billy: Does that mean you’ve eaten something spicy? Eric: That’s what I thought, but apparently it means you’re really excited about something. Rob: I wouldn’t take it that way; if your arse is twitching like a rabbit’s nose then you’ve had... Eric: Too many Donners! Rob: You’re ready for the toilet trip Billy: I really admire that Jack White came here and played in a kilt, now that takes a lot of Bawbag! I don’t think I could

Interview do that. So we won’t see any of the band members in a kilt, tonight? Billy: I would get married in a kilt! I really would, but probably that’s it! Rob: But you have to have the right to wear a kilt? Eric: But Billy’s great grandfather was from here! So he could. Finally, 5 very quick random questions to finish with; What band or artist would you like to play with? Billy: Charles Bradley Rob: Good one... Charles Bradley! Eric: I wouldn’t mind touring with Frightened Rabbit also. Best Food? Rob: Bilbao, Spain. We were in these little pubs where they would give you little tapas; I just can’t remember the name of the little block of white rice! Billy: Macclesfield or Bilbao. Eric: I really enjoy a Texas barbecue. American Football, Baseball or Soccer (Football for Rob)? Billy: Soccer Rob: Soccer Eric: Soccer Has any band member run out of clean underwear while on tour? Eric: I bought some today! Rob: I ran out, just turned them inside out! Eric: I don’t support that. Rob: Would go commando then. Billy: Talcum powder will go along way! Have you ever borrowed anything and forgot to give it back? Eric: Rob is constantly stealing my lighter! Billy: I would sometimes borrow a bottle of Jamieson and don’t return it. Finally, when can we expect to see you back in Scotland? Billy & Eric: Next Summer... you never know, little things come up! I can’t thank We Are Augustines enough for making my first experience of interviewing a band a simple task, they were only too happy to talk and tell me in their own words, true feelings about their life on the road and the people they meet. There was never a feeling of scripted answers that we sometimes read in interviews with created pop stars and bands with the sickly sweet ‘save the word’ thoughts, it was all very real. And I’m sorry that I had to cut my quick interview short... at 30 minutes. Even with Billy feeling ill, Eric and Rob needing all the rest they could squeeze into the tour, I’m quite sure that We Are Augustines would have talked to me a good while longer. But they did have a gig to do, and that was impressive!

Mika O2 ABC, Glasgow

16th December

Trey Songz O2 Academy, Glasgow

5th February

Girls Aloud SECC, Glasgow

9th March

Jake Bugg 02 Academy, Glasgow

8th February

Train O2 Academy, Glasgow

15th February

Plan B SECC, Glasgow

14th February

Ellie Goulding O2 Academy, Glasgow

13th December

Jessie J SECC, Glasgow

14th March THE BANTER | 21

Music

22 | THE BANTER

Music

PHOTO // DAREN BORZYNSKI

fun. O2 ABC, Glasgow GIG REVIEW

Tonight, my first impressions was one of “how can a band with one song sell out the ABC?” but the reaction of tonight’s sold out crowd to the New York “indie pop” band fun. quickly laid that first impression to bed. Don’t get me wrong I like fun. and I particularly enjoyed their new album “Some Nights” and its brand of “alternative pop” but I always assumed that they would be classed as a “one hit wonder” or even worse that “Glee band” but the reception the band received tonight blew me away… and it seems I’m not the only one that “particularly enjoyed” fun.’s sophomore album as the ABC crowd sang along with Nate Ruess as fun. opened with “Carry On” and “One Foot” from their new album. As fun. continue to play their brand of “indie pop” even delving into their debut album “Aim and Ignite”, the Glasgow crowd sings, shouts and the female majority screams and shrieks whenever lead singer Nate Ruess, who wouldn’t look out of place in a Hollister advert, comes anywhere near the front of the stage. Although the band are classed as a trio, a trio of touring members doubles the number of band members on the stage for tonight’s show, and the extra musicians really help to highlight how unique fun. can be through the use of a range of different instruments such as saxophone and a trumpet. Music fans can be very quick to label bands as “the next …” or “the new…” and fun. have fell susceptible to this as they’ve been labelled as “The Next Queen”, musical, it is easy to see why this label has been bestowed upon the New York band but I think it may be wise for music fans to wait a few years and a few more albums from fun. before comparing them to a band of Queen’s stature. The band seem genuinely taken aback by the reception they have received tonight as it has been rapturous. Tonight’s set is brought to a close with the band’s massive number one hit “We are Young”, a fantastic cover of the Rolling Stone’s classic “You Can’t Always Get What you Want” and a resounding rendition of new single “Some Nights”. fun. are the definition of an “IT” band but it seems they might just have the talent, the songs and certainly the rabid fanbase to hang around for long than the “15 minutes” they’ve achieved so far.

MAXWELL LYNAS

THE BANTER | 23

Music

THE GASLIGHT ANTHEM O2 Academy, Glasgow GIG REVIEW

Sigh… Encores? What is the point? I’ve “ranted” about this before but after Gaslight Anthem’s performance at the o2 Academy on Friday night, I feel it is relevant again. It’s not encores per se that I have a problem with; it is more “planned” encores, everyone knows what is going to happen, so what is the point? After a great performance, more on that later, by Gaslight Anthem, the band took a short break and came back on stage to perform theirplanned encore and the crowd just weren’t the same after the band’s planned break. I feel dirty writing anything negative about Gaslight Anthem, as I adore them and everything they have done and especially after their great performance but their little encore took a little shine off of the night for me. It’s time to put the negativity behind us now and talk about Gaslight Anthem’s performances, which I may run out of superlatives to describe it with The New Jersey quintet bounded onto stage and opened with “Mae” from new album “Handwritten”, the fantastic “The ‘59 Sound” followed and received an incredible reception from the sold out and frenzied crowd.

amazing. The band continue to mix in some old songs, “Even Cowgirls Get the Blues” and “Angry Johnny and the Radio”, with the new songs, “Handwritten”, “Biloxi Parish” and “Here Comes My Man” from their latest and great album “Handwritten” with the title track proving to be one of the highlights of the night. Their latest single “45” is up next and it shows the band at their anthemic best, more songs from “Handwritten” are giving an airing tonight and they fit perfectly in with Gaslight’s older tracks. New tracks “Too Much Blood”, “Mulholland Drive” and “Keepsake” slip in seamlessly beside old tracks “Wooderson”, “The Queen of Lower Chelsea” and “Seor and the Queen“. The stellar “Here’s Looking at You, Kid” and “Great Expectations” bring the set to a brief close before Gaslight come back for a little more with “She Loves You”, a cover of Bob Dylan’s “Changing of the Guard” but the aforementioned lull in the crowd kicks in around this time and “Boomboxes and Dictionaries” and “Drive” don’t receive the response they perhaps deserve. The crowd seem to snap out of their lull for the night’s closing track “The Backseat” as Gaslight gave a superb rendition ofthe track from their excellent “The ’59 Sound” album.

Gaslight followed their two opening tracks with “Howl” and “American Slang” and even four songs into the band’s ninety minute set, you quickly realise what a great live rock band, Gaslight Anthem are.

Don’t let my negativity about the band’s planned encore sour this review as Gaslight Anthem were epic and they once again proved there is very few bands that can hang with them in a live setting.

You’d be able to place Gaslight Anthem on any stage in the world and the New Jersey band would just perform and be

Gaslight Anthem are without a doubt among the greatest rock bands around at the moment.

MAXWELL LYNAS

FATHERSON THE GARAGE, Glasgow GIG REVIEW

Fatherson are a three-piece band hailing from the small town of Kilmarnock with a quintessential Scottish indie sound mixed with a folk twang. With support slots for Panic! At the disco, Feeder and Twin Atlantic under their belt, they embarked on a headline tour beginning in October. The band took to the stage at Glasgow Garage for one of the biggest headline shows of their career on Friday, following support from up and coming bands MidnightLion, So Many Animal Calls and Russian Ninjas. There was a warm welcome from fans, not only from their hometown, but those they have gained through a multitude of tours. Bassist Marc Strain looked overwhelmed with pride during the set as their songs ‘First Born’ and ‘Gone Fission’ sparked a flawless recital of their lyrics from the crowd. Even new songs such as ‘Cat Stevens’ were also warmly received, proving that the band can do no wrong in their fans eyes. 24 | THE BANTER

Despite being relatively new to headlining it is apparent that the boys take their music seriously and are determined to prove their worth – they seldom stopped to interact with the crowd other than to graciously thank them for their support. Lead singer Ross Leighton’s vocals were powerful and full of emotion well beyond his years and, with the accompaniment of an on stage cello player, highlighted the bands brilliant and catchy lyrics. Their set explored a wide range of song writing talents from upbeat indie in ‘Hometown’ similar to the likes of Frightened Rabbit and Twin Atlantic to slower moving, powerful songs such as ‘James’ and ’43’ – exploring the perils of moving away from home and growing up. Fatherson put on a brilliantly simple but charming set likely to gain them an even bigger following. The band may come from the small town of Kilmarnock but their talent and passion is likely to take them places much further.

HOLLY LENNON

Music

PHOTO // DAREN BORZYNSKI

NINA NESBITT ORAN MOR, Glasgow GIG REVIEW

As I arrived at popular music venue Oran Mor, I struggled to think how Scottish singer/songwriter Nina Nesbitt was going to fill it out for the first night, of her first ever headline tour. However, that she did. To get things warmed up, there were two support acts on stage before Nina. Billy Lockett took to the stage first. Next up was the very talented Josh Kumra, who amongst many other tracks sang the original version of his top ten hit “Don’t Go”. Kumra seemed to have more of a stage presence than Billy but I put this down to experience and the fact the audience would have known him a little better. As Nina approached the stage, there were yelps of excitement from a crowd that was mostly filled with teenage girls; most of whom were trying to dress like her. Also, to my surprise, there were actually quite a few boys in the audience as well, meaning the odd wolf whistle was appropriate now and again. Nina opened with her very catchy folk song, ‘Noserings and Shoestrings’, to which she was accompanied by only her guitar. As she finished her opening number she very politely shared her excitement of being in Glasgow with the crowd. What was really great about Nina and her show was the idea of a one man band. She had no one on stage with her and instead played a handful of instruments by herself, including

electric guitar, acoustic guitar, piano and she also had a voice box on stage. Having said this, with such a distinctive voice and rare talent for song writing, I believe Nina could have stood on stage with only a microphone and would still have sounded good. Nina performed some tracks from her upcoming debut album which are sounding really good. Surprisingly, she only performed two covers throughout the show. One of which was a stripped back version of Kodalines ‘All I want’. The young singer has such a memorisation about her; the whole crowd stays deadly silent when she sings, as though they are hanging on her every word. Her touring experience has definitely come in handy. ‘Someone Else’ is the next track to look out for from Nina as she hinted that it’s going to be released soon. She played around with the crowd and the lyrics “I don’t need you to be my blanket, someone else can keep me warm”, which went down well. Nina embraced her Scottish roots as she closed the show with a fun cover of ‘500 miles’. The audience got fully into it, jumping around and singing along. Overall, Nina’s gig was really good, I feel a more intimate venue would have suited her more but she obviously has enough following for bigger and better things. ROSIE O’NEILL

THE BANTER | 25

Music AIDEN GRIMSHAW KING TUTS, Glasgow GIG REVIEW

Two years since he first appeared on Britain’s biggest talent show, The X Factor, Aiden Grimshaw has returned to the spotlight with perhaps one of the best sounds to ever have came from an artist on the show. With such great reviews of his recently released, debut album “Misty Eye”, Aiden set out on a headline tour across Britain showcasing his music to both a new and existing fan-base. Arriving at one of Glasgow’s most popular and favourite gig venues, King Tuts was filled with a diverse crowd from all ages, both genders and every sort of style. One thing that united the crowd however, was their appreciation and support for Aiden. The atmosphere before people even made their way into the venue was great which is always an exciting indicator of what was to come. Following two great sets from two great artists, the crowd eagerly awaited Aiden to take to the stage. After an intense build up and dramatic entrance, Aiden opens his set with the powerful track, “Hold On” which is then followed with his debut single “Is This Love.” An electronic and anthemic track, it is already clear from just the first two songs the energy and passion Aiden puts in to his live performances. Throughout the set, Aiden tells us about the two years in which he worked creating the album. Telling the story of someone he once loved and how that inspired him to write tracks he performed such as “What We Gonna Be” and album title track, “Misty Eye.” He also went on to tell of how is mother worried about him and told him to be himself and so inspired the track “Be Myself” which he performed with such depth holding complete tension throughout the crowd. Finishing his set with the second single released from the album, “Curtain Call” Aiden was at his most powerful. Fully engaged with his fans, Aiden was giving this song his everything, despite sharing the fact he was suffering from a sore throat. He battled through and put on a tremendous close to his electrifying, impressive set. After “One more tune” chants from his fans, Aiden returned to the stage for a final song looking like a completely different artist. Relaxed and at complete ease, he was joined on stage with his band and support act Seye to perform acoustic track “Chokehold” in which he encouraged the crowd to sing and dance with him. It was a fun and energetic end to the night leaving his fans completely buzzing from the gig. Aiden Grimshaw proved himself to be an astonishing artist. Passionate, extreme, eager, deep and powerful, you cannot fully know or appreciate him until you see him perform live. And going by his gig at King Tuts and his music so far, we certainly cannot wait to see what he does next. NATASHA REID

26 | THE BANTER

PHOTO // DAREN BORZYNSKI

SCOUTING FOR GIRLS O2 ABC, Glasgow GIG REVIEW

You may remember their infectiously catchy tune She’s So Lovely when it hit the charts in 2004. 8 years down the line and Scouting for Girls returned to one of Glasgow’s great gig venues, the ABC, as part of their UK tour. Some people may regard the band as a “one hit wonder” as they never really hit the “big time” after that song, however, it’s fair to say their success was a not spur of the moment thing. These are 3 guys who have worked hard to earn themselves some sort of title in the music industry. It was clear that it’s a real shame that Scouting for Girls’ new material hasn’t been given the credit it deserves, as musically, it is a lot more credible. Without You and Love How It Hurts seemed to be favourites from the new album. Having said all of this, She’s So Lovely was definitely the best track of the night. Overall, the band’s hard work has paid off and they provided a fantastic set for yet another fantastic Glasgow crowd. ROSIE O’NEILL

Music CONOR MAYNARD O2 ABC, Glasgow GIG REVIEW

Teen sensation Conor Maynard stormed the stage at the O2 ABC in Glasgow on Monday night. Fans of the singer queued outside the venue from early on in the morning, with the queue building throughout the day. The excitement only got bigger when the doors finally opened as the (mostly female) crowd pushed and shoved to get as close to their idol as they could. There was a clear split in the audience of young girls at the front and their parents at the bar at the back. Conor enlisted PW and Starboy Nathan to warm up the audience for him but, as strong a performance as they put it on, looking around at the banners and merchandised caps, it was clear to see the crowd were there one man only. Fans tension built as the stage was prepared for Conor’s entrance and hit an all-time high when a young girl had to be escorted from the audience as she had fainted with excitement. It’s easy to see why Conor has been dubbed the UK’s version of Justin Bieber. When he finally arrived on stage the scream from the crowd was deafening. As he launched in to his chart hit ‘Vegas Girl’, Conor was pelted with underwear and other various items. This didn’t seem to faze him though, he’s probably used to it by now.

He then treated the audience to tracks from his debut album ‘Contrast’, including ‘Pictures’, ‘Better Than You’ and ‘Mary Go Round’. Next, it was time for an acoustic session, where Conor covered Nicki Minaj’s ‘Starships’ and Rihanna’s ‘Diamonds’. Conor left the stage briefly but returned to close the show with his singles ‘Can’t Say No’ and the Ne-Yo assisted ‘Turn Around’. Although his set was short it was definitely entertaining. As he left the stage and the young girls in the audience rushed to try and get a glimpse of him getting on his tour bus, it was clear to see that this hysteria is only the beginning for Conor. His mix of pop and RnB and outstanding vocals means there’s something for everyone, and with people like Ne-Yo and Pharrell Williams behind him, the future is bright for this young star.

LAURA DONALDON

HADDOWFEST VARIOUS VENUES, Edinburgh GIG REVIEW

Entering it’s third year, Haddow Fest is a festival showcasing Scottish indie bands as well as welcoming bigger acts from outside of Scotland. This year we had Hadouken! and the Cribs who were surprisingly not the best acts of the day. The festival starts at 1.30pm and finishes at 11.30pm and that’s not including after-parties. It takes place across various venues in Edinburgh and if it continues with the consistently great acts as it has in this and recent years, it could one day be one of Scotland’s biggest music events. This year there were over 40 bands over six stages. The highlight for me were mid-afternoon performers The Stagger Rats. They played to 300 of us and I was instantly taken by them. The vocals can easily be compared to recent indie/rock bands but for me, I could hear hints of Morrissey’s influence and bitter tone. Their final song ‘Fuzzy Fuzzy’ that brought their 8-track set to a close was easily my favourite. A fun, summery song whilst still maintaining the slight sarcasm that seems to accompany their sound. Worth noting, though, are Kassidy. A band that have found themselves soaring in popularity over the past few years.

They are infamous in the underground music scene for being extremely tight and forget Hadouken and The Cribs; THIS was the band I was looking forward to after years of hearing good things and they did not fail to live up to my oh-so-high expectations. They played songs from their recent album One Man Army and proved themselves to be everything they are hyped up to be. They possess the southern-grown sound of Kings of Leon whilst adding hints of electronica and bluesy rock n roll sounds. They’re unique, their sound shouldn’t work but it really does and their performance does, too. Haddow Fest has been quoted as being about not selling tickets but bands selling themselves purely on merit. Unlike almost all large music events, this appears to be about the music and if they carry on with line-ups as strong as this year and such fantastic ethics, there’s no reason that this won’t become a thousand times more successful. Everything about Haddow Fest was about music and didn’t seem to be about money at-all. If you didn’t go this year, make sure you do next year. Very refreshing take on the festival experience.

SARAH LOUISE KELLY

THE BANTER | 27

Interview

ith the name of Clock Opera, you would expect them to be on time, but unfortunately not today, as the band were delayed in traffic. We know in Scotland, November weather is never the kindest and with the heavens open, a boat might have been quicker coming over from the previous day’s gig in Newcastle. As time passed, I thought ‘What will this band be like to talk to?’ I’ve never had much luck with artists playing at Tuts, it’s not their fault, it just seems to be that way. This time I can forgive Clock Opera for keeping me waiting, as I could hear bitsand pieces of their sound-check from downstairs in Glasgow’s King Tuts, and I knew this evening’s gig was going to be worth the wait. I was finally greeted by drummer, Che Albrighton - there was no tour manager, or roadies, for them to set up. Che told me that lead singer Guy Connelly and keyboard play Dan Armstrong would be with me in 2 minutes, and they were... precisely. Clock Opera have been on the go now for 3 years, can you tell us a little about how the pieces came together? Guy Connelly – I began the project; I wrote some songs and did some chopping around with things on a laptop and quickly realised the way I wanted the songs to work out, and then formed the band. I used to live with Andy, he used to be in a band with Che, and Dan was a friend who joined us a few months later. We put our first single out about 3 years ago. Dan Armstrong – Bizarrely I had already watched two Clock Opera gigs before I was invited. Through mutual friendship the band was brought together? GC – There was no pin board adverts or classifieds involved. Did you imagine we met in a queue for X-Factor rejects or something? DA – That’s how some bands start, when you have substandard solo performers and someone puts it all together. GC – Can we change our story? We met at X-Factor, Dan was doing a Rolf Harris tribute act... that sounds more like Britain’s Got Talent. Che and Andy were 2/3 of an elongated pantomime horse and I was riding on top of them and we saw Dan in the queue, so we sat on him until he joined the band. That sounds a much better story! How has the last three years been for Clock Opera? GC – It’s been a lot of fun. Your catching us right at the end of quite a long period of touring and my brain is a bit like that vegetable soup that we were generously given downstairs, but remembering back how we felt all the way along it’s been amazing. We have done a lot of travelling and seen a lot of countries.

We have played in front of a lot of people and it’s been a great ride. We’re getting to the end of this album and we can’t wait just to get home and start writing the next album. Your album was released earlier this year titled ‘Ways to Forget’, has had lots of positive reviews and just the 1 to forget about. How do you feel about the album now that it is out there, is the band still positive about it? DA – We never really sit down and listen to it, we play all the songs every night. We put a lot of care into ‘Ways to Forget’, and we made it, we look forward really. It’s not really worth having a post mortem, it’s not dead, don’t get me wrong. GC – It’s more in stasis, it’s been frozen on discs and files. DA – Like Walt Disney. GC – Is he frozen in stasis? DA – Isn’t he? I thought he was cryogenically frozen. I hope so! GC – Kind of like a princess waiting to be revived. DA – I need to check that but I believe he’s on ice. GC – We have a shared love of Walt Disney and cryogenic processes, that’s how we met in that queue. A couple of tracks have been used, firstly ‘The Lost Buoys’ by the BBC for the Olympics games and ‘Lesson No.7’ by Sky Sports to promote the start of the football season. Has this been one of Clock Opera’s highlights this year? GC – You also have to remember Nigel Slater’s Lamb Tagine, DIY SOS. DA – I had one of my old songs on Flog IT... top that! GC – Maltese television ‘Belongings’ and Made In Chelsea. DA – It seems to be on Made in Chelsea quite regularly. Is that something Clock Opera are happy about? GC – I think it’s quite funny for our music to be played on shows that have no relevance to our music or quite far away from what we would watch ourselves. Although the Olympic thing was quite a bit of a buzz, we didn’t know it was going to be used and then it came on and on again, so that was quite fun. DA – No one probably knew what it was. GC – From our point of view, looking out from the inside, you never know how someone heard about you. It’s kind of quite a nebulous process in that way, unless there is that rare occurrence when someone comes up to you and says ‘I heard you on that and I’ve come to this show’, which is obviously a direct connection. You rarely get that you do... you normally come to a place and a room full of people that have all come through different sources to be in the same room on that occasion. Our lives are a sequence of those events, and all those little bits add up to that and we don’t really know how. Do you have a big interest in any Sports after the Olympic Games? DA – Personally I’m addicted to sports. THE BANTER | 29

Interview

GC – Ha! You just said ‘personally I’m a dick’ DA – Well if this is going to be typed up, you can just put ‘I’m a dick, addicted to sports’. The media gives the impression that everyone loves football and when you meet a man that doesn’t like football the media makes him somehow feel different. The reality for me is... I rarely meet anyone who loves football, especially in the music business. I carry it around like a private little virus. I’m the only one in the band and on this tour that follows football. I like all football, I like all footballers, tell everyone! GC – Come and talk to Dan about football. DA – You do wonder how people show up on Football Focus, all different musicians, no I wouldn’t fancy that! GC – I think you would be quite good at it. You could go on and talk about AFC Wimbledon.

30 | THE BANTER

DA – No, I’d rather not! This is your 3rd time in Glasgow this year, is it a place that you enjoy coming back to? DA – I love it! GC – Me too! DA – Are you suggesting that this is overkill? No, the readers of The Banter will more than welcome you back if you can fit another gig in before the end of the year. DA – I think this will be the last one of the year in Glasgow. GC – It’s our penultimate UK gig of the year, we just have Bristol tomorrow, then a few mainland European gigs then

Interview

that’s it. I really like it in Glasgow, I love the people.

music, how do you find these items?

What tracks off the album do you really enjoy playing live?

DA – There has never been a teapot or pan lid or a pot in fact, no offence but that’s what they are always described as. It’s a bit technical and pedantic. GC – There has been tankards, there has been trays and pipes. The big news on that front, we were in Dublin and somebody nicked my tankard, it was battered to a pulp and barely making any noise, but it travelled with us. It had been to more gigs than Dan. DA – You were kind of describing yourself there, ‘battered, barely making any noise’. GC – That’s why it was sad that someone nicked it. We amounted, quite a strenuous involved campaign to make the person return it, make them feel guilty enough to give it back, but to no avail.

DA - At the risk of sounding like an idiot, I like playing all of them. GC – At the moment, my favourites are ‘11th Hour’ and ‘Move To The Mountains’, ‘mountains’ because we haven’t played it as much as the other ones. On this tour, it has become a bit of a surprise, it’s always been on the periphery of the set, where in the last month it has almost become a central moment. There have been some nice moments on this tour. You use Pots, Pan Lids and Tea Pots on stage to make

THE BANTER | 31

Interview

Ever since then, I have been trying to find things. Andy gave me a tankard that was frankly substandard and lasted about two gigs. DA – You should get someone to bring something at the next gig.

a melody, a voice, a hum, a drone, a clang, a bang or a slam, anything at all’. The contributions were then used to put together over a weekend and then uploaded as a multimix on Soundcloud, showing that they are open to using any noise as an instrument.

You have made reference to Philip Glass in the past and he has recently worked with Beck to release an album of remixes titled REWORK_ Is Philip Glass someone you would like to collaborate with in the future?

Finally, will Clock Opera ever do a remix of British Telecom’s Talking Clock?

GC – Yes, very much so! I wouldn’t consider for a minute that he would want to, but if he did then absolutely yes! It would be incredible. DA – If you’re reading this Philip, please get in touch!... No one is angry with you, we just want you to come home! Clock Opera has also remixed tracks for other artists that include; Marina and the Diamonds, Feist, Metronomy, The Drums and Niki and the Dove, to name a few. Is there anyone else you would like to work with? DA – Loads of people, Regina Spektor. Then ideally just get married and the end of writing the album, or before. (Not to Regina Spektor) GC – That’s a collaboration of sorts. Is this correct, Dan’s father appears in your latest video directed by Ben Strebel, ‘The Lost Buoys’? DA – Yes, that’s my father Alun, he did take a bit of convincing but came through for us. Clock Opera recently invited other artists and fans to contribute sounds; this could have been anything, ‘a noise, 32 | THE BANTER

GC – yes! DA – You mean ‘The time sponsored by Accurist?’... do they still make a million a year out of that thing? Maybe I should check my stats, but people do use it. Apparently it’s one of the most popular answers in the office when you’re trying to do something on the sly, just pop in the old 123. I need to check the stats, but it’s definitely a six figure plus sum! GC – I don’t even know what the number is! DA – Yes, 123. GC – Why would you ever need to know that? DA – I used to use that, especially at New Year’s Eve, that’s the best one you can have, getting it bang on 12! It wasn’t planned that the interview would end on the start/ finish of a clock face, we were just running out of time and I had to capture some photographs of them. ‘Ways to Forget’ debuted in April 2012, and Guy Connelly’s voice, combined with a musical precision that often reminds of minimalism, must be listened to. Although I’m quite sure if you have watched any TV in the last six months, a piece of music grabbed your attention, and you wondered about the spliced, sampled and manipulated sounds, it was probably Clock Opera. INTERVIEW & PHOTOS // DAREN BORZYNSKI

RaisingAwareness Bringing Positive Change in Male Cancer Awareness For more information visit

www.cahonasscotland.com

Interview

34 | THE BANTER

Interview

t’s been a massive year for breakthrough artists in the UK, however, these boys didn’t enter a talent competition or get anything handed to them on a plate. Lawson - consisting of Andy Brown, Adam Pitts, Joel Peat and Ryan Fletcher - have already seen the rewards of being a successful act after supporting the likes of The Wanted, Will Young and Avril Lavigne. Having gathered support from all over the UK, the boys have earned themselves a massive fan base and Glasgow seems to be a city they love returning to. “Support in Glasgow is amazing, everyone is so nice. We have a group of fans from Glasgow, well they might be from Glasgow but they literally follow us everywhere, it’s good support.” In 2011, the band made their mainstream breakthrough after becoming the support act for one of Britain’s biggest pop bands, The Wanted, on their first ever theatre tour, The Behind Bars Tour. The band made a great impression on the audience, and received good reviews from fans and critics alike. Having developed a friendship with The Wanted, they returned as the support act for The Wanted’s second tour, #TheCode Tour also known as TWAT (The Wanted Arena Tour). Being the support for artists has obviously gave Lawson the experience they needed in order to be able to hold their own up there. However, it must be a massive THE BANTER | 35

Interview realisation to know that they are now on par with people they have once supported. “Our album has been released in ten different countries. Places like Malaysia, we have never been there in our life. To know we have support not only within the UK is absolutely amazing. Support from the hometowns is always the best, it’s awesome. We can’t wait to go back on tour to see our friends and families.” It’s clear to see that success has not shot right to the boy’s egos and in fact, they are very humble. The boys jokingly talk about moving up in the world of music: “We have our own tour bus now. You know things are moving up when you get your own bunk. It’s pretty mental that.” When deciding on the perfect recipe for a song for 4 young men to sing, it’s clear the first inspiration would be heartbreak.. Due to speculation within the media, some prodding and prying, anyone that knows about Lawson will know that Andy Brown’s split with The Saturdays babe Mollie King, inspired a lot of the bands album. However, it can’t always be easy being so public about a break up or even a relationship that means a lot to someone. Andy told The Banter how it really is. “It’s hard to not be open about it because people ask you everyday. I’ve never really said that though, people have just put two and two together. I don’t mind. If you listen to the album it pretty much just depicts the whole relationship. Everyone goes through the same devastating feeling; Ed Sheeran and Adele have written about this kind of stuff too.” The band’s first official single, “When She Was Mine”, was released on May 27, 2012, reaching #4 on the UK Singles Chart. Following the single release, the band undertook their second headline tour, in which they visited locations such as Glasgow, Sheffield, Nottingham, Leeds, London and Birmingham. The band’s second single, “Taking Over Me”, was released on August 5, 2012, peaking at #3 on the UK Singles Chart. In September 2012, the band released their third single Standing In The Dark, which also made the top 10. This proves that not only did the boys create a buzz when they first came on scene, but also managed to sustain excitement. “It’s the best feeling to have longevity rather than just 36 | THE BANTER

Interview instant success; we were never really in it for that. Of course we would love a number one but the fact there’s room to grow is a great thing. We’re always growing and learning, we’ve got tough competition. Standing in the Dark was our favourite single to release, even though it only went to number 6, it actually sold more copies.” With regards to jealousy or tension within Lawson, it’s fair to say there’s nothing but friendship. Front man Andy Brown has probably had the most attention, gaining himself the lead parts in the bands music videos. However, this doesn’t phase the rest of the band… “Because we’re a band we all have our individual roles, Andy is the lead singer so it would be weird not to have him as the main focus. Obviously in a boy band you’re all fighting for limelight but we’re more the same as like, Maroon 5 or The Script.” It’s been a long walk on the road to success for the band; it feels like fans have waited forever for their album release. The time however, has finally arrived and Lawson have released their debut album Chapman Square. The band described it as “a dream come true”; and with the album charting at number 5 here in the UK, it doesn’t seem the boys will be going anywhere apart from up after this. “The overall reaction has been amazing, we’ve not seen anything negative to be honest. We think the fans are just happy to finally have our music on their iPods.” It’s no secret that the process of making an album is a lengthy one, the band told The Banter what they enjoyed about it. “We went to LA and recorded it, which was amazing. We worked with a producer called John Shanks who has worked with artists like Kelly Clarkson, he was just incredible. We actually went to his house one day as well, he had a swimming pool, a basketball court, literally every sport you could think of. We recorded around 20 songs before choosing the tracks for the album.” Lawson have more than made a name for themselves within the music industry. Long gone are the days of supporting other bands or boy bands, they’ve proved they are more than able to hold their own up there with the headliners. Lawson’s debut album Chapman Square is out now, with a deluxe version also available. INTERVIEW BY ROSIE O’NEILL & NATASHA REID

THE BANTER | 37

Feature

BEING A MUSICIAN PURE TECHNICAL ABILITY, OR A CONSTANT BATTLE AGAINST YOUR OWN PSYCHE? BY PETRA RASPEL

38 | THE BANTER

Feature

worded the header to this article in a controversial way on purpose – of course it is not just one OR the other: Being a musician has to do with both.

When we talk about becoming a muscian, we very often only seem to focus on building technical ability. This is important, because if you don’t have the technical ability, you will never play to your full potential – which also means you cannot emote the way you’d maybe like to. It will very much feel like having all these incredibly creative ideas, but they are somewhat stuck inside you because you cannot communicate them the way you want to down to your technical limitations. Seeing it from that angle might still sound pretty straightforward. Today, I’d like to delve even deeper though and write a bit about taking responsibility for your progress as a singer. “Noooo”, I can hear some of you moaning, “not that type of psychological talk!” I’m afraid to say though that sooner or later, EVERY creative has to think about what drives them on – or, very often, prevents them from getting where they want to be. It is very easy to constantly blame others for your stalling progress as a musician. Things we commonly hear, or maybe have even said ourselves at some point, are (and this list is really endless): 1. I am simply not given a chance. 2. I would love to commit more/change career, but I have family/financial obligations/a sick parent … 3. Other people have much less talent, why do they pick them over me? 4.I know I am good, so I don’t see why I should get trained. Others have successful careers without it, so why not me? (Note: It’s always people without a career who say this) 5. I have a vocal/technical/musical problem, but I don’t know how to fix it. I don’t have time/money… for lessons though. 6. I don’t think I am that good really, I am not putting myself through the pain of being ripped apart completely by going out there (and I am miserable about it, because secretly, I’d still like to). 7. I really want to be a musician, but others say I can’t make a living, so it’s too much of a risk (and I am completely and utterly miserable about it because it’s what I always wanted to do). 8. I feel artistically stuck in a rut, so I bury my head in the sand and hope it will pass. 9. I had this most horrific experience on stage once, and I

really don’t wish to repeat it. I’d still like to perform though, but now I know I am simply not up to it, so I give up. 10. I know I am good, and I want people to recognise it. Why does no one notice? The last one is actually symptomatic: No one notices because you don’t take action! You cannot expect others to notice how awesome you are if you are virtually taking no actions to make them notice you. They won’t come to you – you will have to go to them. Your career won’t improve by seeing how well others are doing, being bitter about it, holding a secret grudge and thinking: “But they don’t deserve it, I am much better!” (“Better at what?” is an important question to ask yourself in this context). You will need to prove you are better (and maybe you are indeed) by, you guessed it, taking action. Taking action is one thing – having the confidence to take action is another, and that’s where it gets really tricky. Undoubtedly, there are people with a slightly warped sense of their abilities, and/or the ones with a constant sense of entitlement. I think though it is far more common that people are actually afraid to take action – afraid because they have to change. Change is always linked to a fear of the unknown: It is easier for some to stay in the (dis)comfort of being miserable, than actually taking a risk. Being frightened is a natural instinct to spare us pain – but it is also a great inhibitor to move forward. By making excuses, you give away a crucial chance to get where you want to be. Every artist needs to be brutally honest about their priorities, perceived necessities – and, most crucially, about their fears and complacencies (and very often, the latter go hand in hand). So the next time you think one of the sentences above, or something remotely similar, I would recommend to straightaway ask yourself the following questions instead: 1. When did you last take action (not just in your head!) to actually make yourself deserving of that chance – be it trying to make new contacts, working on limitations you know you have, or simply putting yourself out there? 2. It is a valid choice to put family/relations above your career – but it still is a choice! If that’s what you really and truly feel, you need to make peace with it, and a lot of people do. If you can’t, you need to delve deeper. Ask yourself if there is really no other way: Could someone else help you (and did you in fact ever ask for help)? Could you possibly move (not liking the idea is one thing – saying it is impossible is another)? Did you ever talk to your family, or do you just assume they wouldn’t support you? 3. Instead of being bitter about other people being picked despite being “less talented”, have an honest look at what THE BANTER | 39

Feature they have that you don’t have, and turn it into a positive, because this is something you can work on. And don’t forget about the things YOU have they don’t have: Learn to play your strengths, work on your weaknesses, and then ultimately stop constantly comparing yourself to others. 4. How do you know, and who told you? What are you afraid of? To simply become better? To train your instrument in a way that will make it last a lifetime? Or are you maybe just lazy and, if you are truly honest with yourself, want the fame, but are not willing to put in the work? Or don’t you quite understand yet what it is that separates a (below) average from a great artist: It is not talent alone – it is the will to constantly work on yourself, and not letting your fears and complacencies stifle your creativity.

6. Who told you you are no good, apart from yourself? Get a professional opinion. Yes, you might be scared of the prospect of being “laughed at”, but did it ever occur to you that this will probably not happen? And what is actually worse: Taking the risk of doing something you really, really want to do (failure is always an option, but that’s life), or looking back when you are 80, and have nothing to look back upon – apart from regrets about what you haven’t done? 7. Why do you care what others say? What do YOU want? Being a musician is never “linear” in terms of money. However, is it really the prospect of earning money with your music that’s most important to you? If that’s the first thing you are thinking about, you will set yourself up for failure. Even if you can’t make a living out of it – there are still many things you CAN do, and you can supplement your income with related (or completely unrelated) jobs. 8. We all get stuck. Some are passive about it and hope it will pass, some are proactive and seek advice. Try to be the latter. There are a lot of people out there who can help: Instrumental & performance coaches, medical professionals, creative industry experts …. Admit your problem, and then seek help. It can sometimes be as simple as just logging onto a forum/taking to Twitter and seeking exchange – you will be surprised how many people have similar problems, and how liberating it can feel to know you are not alone. Bounce ideas off each other, most of all: Be open. A lot of people feel they will always need to deal with their problems on their own, or have to keep their cards close to their chest in case “anyone else will steal my ideas”. There is space, and indeed a niche, for everyone. You always get out what you put in, even if you think you don’t. 9. Instead of letting one unpleasant experience put you off for good, why not try to work on the things that didn’t go right? Was it a vocal problem that made everything else fall apart? Get a vocal coach. Were you crippled with anxiety? Talk to a performance coach/counsellor/physician with specialism in performance related medicine (they do exist!). Were you underprepared? Work harder. 10. Here we go back to the start: No one noticed because there is no entitlement that people will, especially not without you pulling out all the stops! No one is waiting for you and will knock on your door – it is you who has to approach your audience, not vice versa.

5. If you know you have a problem, stop making excuses and do something about it. In my opinion, it is simply an attitude problem to say: “No time/no money.” If you are strapped for cash, get another job (I did as a student, and so do thousands of others). Stop whining about not having time when you are out partying every other night, or spend 3 hours a day in front of the TV, and stop complaining about being too skint for vocal coaching if you have enough money to buy new shoes you don’t really need – YOU set the priorities. If you have real time constraints, ask (again) for help.. 40 | THE BANTER

Don’t get me wrong: There are a lot of things in life we have very little to no influence over: You can’t make the casting director pick you over someone else if they believe the other person is better suited. There are far more things we CAN influence however than we commonly like to admit to ourselves: You can take responsibility for yourself and your actions, and can become the best musician you can be – if you are willing to commit, work, and stop making excuses.

West of Scotland Racial Equality Council

Have you been a victim of discrimination? Do you know someone who has been discriminated against? Because of: Age – Disability – Gender Race – Sexual Orientation Religion and Belief Need more information? Need advice? West of Scotland Racial Equality Council can help. We offer a free confidential advice & information service. Please call our helpdesk on...

0141 337 6626 We carry out local outreach advice & information surgeries across the West of Scotland. To find out where and when out next surgery will be please call 0141 337 6626 or email

admin@wsrec.co.uk

Interview

AMY MACDONALD BY POLLY BROWN

42 | THE BANTER

Interview

he shot to fame in 2007 with her debut album ‘This Is The Life’, but now, after the release of her third studio album ‘Life In A Beautiful Light’ The Banter gets a chat with Amy Macdonald to talk about her new album, why she will always be a Glasgow girl and how she has enjoyed her work alongside charities. You have released your new album ‘Life in a beautiful light’, how has the response been since the release? Really, really good actually, from fans it’s been so positive. I’ve een on tour now for the past month or s, I’m in Germany just now and the gigs have been great and it’s all been going really well, so I can’t complain. You took a year’s break; why was this? I had just been on tour for 4 years and just wanted to be home for more than a few days at a time and I just wanted to be normal again and see my friends and family. In that year I did write the whole album though. Did you ever intend on writing an album while you were on your break? I didn’t intend to, no, I was just literally having a year off and it had been four solid years of always packing and living out of a suitcase so I just wanted to be home again but just being home was inspiring to me and I came up with the songs quite quickly.

You have also been named as a headliner for Mencap’s Little Noise Session’s, can you tell us a bit about how that makes you feel to be part of something so important? It’s an honor for me. The great thing is that music is universal, there is so many things you can do with it so to be able to do a gig and use your music to help other people is a real amazing thing and the Little Noise Sessions have been going on for so long and have had so many amazing and prestigious ands playing there so it’s a huge pleasure for me to be asked and I’m really excited about doing that. You have done TV appearances, you have done countless tour dates all over the globe and you’re a hugely successful recording artist but the Celebrity Culture doesn’t seem to be your bag, why is this? It’s just not me, I never had any aspirations to be recognized and followed down the street or anything – I got into this for my love of music and I love what I do. It just wouldn’t feel natural to me I would feel much more at home in an old dingey Glasgow boozer than at some star-studded party, it would just feel a bit alien to me so I just feel more comfortable in my own surroundings and that’s the way I prefer it.

Do you feel you have made progress as an artist from your first album to Life in a beautiful light? I think you have more life experience so you have more things to write about. For me, writing songs is a very natural thing and so I never really think about it, I never sit down and decide I want to write in a certain style because it wouldn’t feel natural to me so I think I’ve definitely made progress, but I think I’m still the same kind of artist that I was at the beginning, I’ve not drastically changed.

The song ‘Barrowland Ballroom’ from your first album is about the Glasgow venue, The Barrowlands, what is it about the Barrowlands that is so special to you? It’s just one of those amazing venues, it’s just one of those places that sounds amazing when you’re there performing or even if you’re there as a fan, it’s so hard to put it into words but when you’ve played so many venues there’s always a few special one that stick in your head and that’s definitely one for me. Even when I was going there as a fan it was always an amazing thing when your favourite band announced a tour and it was The Barrowlands they were playing at, you knew it would be a good gig and everyone was excited about it.

You recently did 5 gigs in 1 day as part of the STV Appeal, how was that experience for you? Yeah, It was really good, we got contacted by STV saying that they wanted to do the appeal and would I be available and at the time it just worked out perfectly so at the time we had to have a think and see what we could do that would be a bit different and that would be a bit of a challenge and came up with doing five gigs in one day and it was a really great day, lots of a great people about and raised £10,000 which was then doubled by the Government so we raised £20,000 and had a lot of fun at the same time so it was definitely worth-while.

The song ‘Pride’ is the second single to be released from your new album, what was the inspiration for this? The inspiration was after I played the National Anthem at Hampden when we played Spain at a qualifying match, it was just one of the proudest moments of my life. It always is when I get to sing the National Anthem; it’s such a special thing for me, I was so honored and so lucky to be able to do that and particularly after that game as the atmosphere was so amazing and so electric and when I got home I just couldn’t sit still, I was so emotional and so moved after everything that had happened and so I wrote the song ‘Pride’. THE BANTER | 43

Interview

You travel all over the world and have huge opportunities in your career, but what is it about living in Glasgow you just can’t give up? I’m not sure; it just feels like home for me, it just feels right. It’s where I feel most comfortable; it’s where my family are and where all my friends are and I would be daft to want to leave that. It’s where I feel happy it’s where I feel relaxed and it’s just the place I like to be most.

What has been your highlight of 2012? It’s so hard to pick a highlight because I’m so lucky I have so many amazing opportunities but bringing the album out and the album getting to number 2 in the UK charts was a real highlight for me and it’s always really special when you see all these thousands of people who go out on the first day to buy your record I feel really chuffed with that and I feel very grateful for the amazing support.

Generally at this time of year people are slowing down, maybe put on some weight for the winter and gradually unwind for Christmas, but your Amy MacDonald, you don’t really do ‘Relaxed’ you’re touring Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, Austria and Switzerland next month. What are your plans for Christmas? I think I finish up everything on the 17th and hope to get home on the 18th or 19th and then I don’t have any proper plans it’ll just be quiet Christmas with family and have to do a mad rush of Christmas shopping and just looking forward to having a bit of time at home

This is about to be the biggest, most important question you’ll ever have to answer… I know you’re a huge football fan, who do you think would be ideal Scotland Manager? Em, I think there’s a few candidates and I think everyone always say’s Gordon Strachan so I think that’s maybe who we’re after and who would do a good job but I’m very romantic and I can’t help but think how good Scotland are and were under Walter Smith, he was the one who kind of turned it around so I do hope that Walter might go back again, I think he might be the man for the job. Although, I would be very happy with Gordon Strachan, aswell.

Some of my friends have got a few parties organized for the New Year so it’ll be a nice bit of relaxation for me and then some typical crazy Glasgow madness.

New album ‘Life In A Beautiful Light’ is out now for purchase. Amy will embark on a UK tour in early 2013, tickets are available now.

44 | THE BANTER

Life has its ups and downs You can talk confidentially online or by phone whenever you need to. Whatever your worry, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s better out than in.

www.childline.org.uk ChildLine is a service provided by the NSPCC. Registered charity numbers 216401 and SC037717. 7244/11

Movies

THE EXPENDABLES 2 E

xpendables 2, which hits the shelves on December 10, saw two returns of note, one return of course was that of the cast of the 2010 hit action movie Expendables andperhaps the most noteworthy return is that of The Governator himself, Arnold Schwarzenegger to his first expanded acting role in over 8 years (excluding cameos of course). The Banter caught up with the action movie legend that is Schwarzenegger and his Expendable 2 co-star Sly Stallone to discuss the new film. What ways has the bar, been significantly raised in The Expendables 2? Sly: On the sequel you’ve lost the element of surprise.... Usually the first one you may not go very, very deep into character; second one you start to explore the character a bit more. But the odds that you can’t surprise them become, like I said, a lot heavier. So you have to work more and more to come up with some creative devices to keep the action flowing. Arnold: I was happy that I was asked again to be back. For me it was really interesting because one day you are making policy and trying to stimulate the economy and

46 | THE BANTER

trying to fix thebudget problem of the state. Or talking about inmates or educational issues and all those things. The next day you’re on a set and having a shoot out with Van Damme and with Sly, with Bruce Willis and all those guys. This has been the interesting part about my life; it’s really interesting, right? To go from one to the other. I was very appreciative that Sly asked me again.

I think this movie is going to really blow everyone away, because there’s so much great action and funny scenes. The movie made me laugh a lot. It had a lot of terrific funny scenes in there, which is important when you have an action movie to have some comic relief. I thought that everyone’s performance was great. I thought that the first one was almost impossible to top. But when you see this one you’ll agree that this one is even bigger and better than the first one. I think it’s going to be very successful. In the old days there used to be quite a bit of competition between you guys as actionlegends. How was it working on a project together? Was there competition on the set? Sly: Very competitive. Very. No-one wants to be second, so that’s why everyone pushes very hard, and why these

Movies people have established the reputation theyhave. Because they want to be the best, and they usually are.

all my dialogue in ‘Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot’. Probably every line would be immortally bad.

Arnold: I have to say that for me it was the opposite. I felt that everyone on the set was very helpful, because they knew that I have been out of the movies for eight years. So they actually went a little bit overboard thinking that I don’t know how to hold a gun anymore or how to throw a punch or anything like that. So everyone came together kind of and helped, which was really terrific.

Arnold: I think that one-liners are very important and sometimes you don’t even know when you make the movie that this is going to be a great line. I remember when we did Terminator and we did the line “I’ll be back,” I had no idea this was going to be an important line or something people will repeat.

But at the same time, we were very competitive, like you said. I think if you grow up and try to be the best then you have to becompetitive. Because the more you compete the more it is a challenge, the more your performance improves. So I think, because of that, of watching them with their action movies, I tried to step it up. So we were always competing about who has the most defined muscles and who has the best body and who- Who has the least amount of body fat and who has the biggest gun, and who kills the most people. Who kills the most people in a unique way and all of this stuff. So there was competition likethat all the time, yes. Arnold, You said yourself that you’ve been out of acting for a while. Some might say that there are a lot of parallels between acting and politics. What parallels have you found? Arnold: I think there are a lot. You’re always as good as your last movie and I think it’s the same with politics. If you are successful with a certain policy then you’re hot, if you’re successful with the economy and with bringing down the unemployment rate, you’re hot. But if you’re not successful then things go south very quickly.

As a matter of fact I had an argument with Jim Cameron about saying it “I will be back.” He said “No. I wrote it ‘I’ll be back.’” I said “I don’t like the way the L sounds the ‘I’ll’, it sounds a little soft. Maybe it’s more machine-like if I say ‘I will be back.’” He says “No. I wrote it ‘I’ll be back.’” “So, do me a favour and just say ‘I’ll be back.’” “We shoot it 10 times, 10 different versions and then we pick one. But just say the line.” Anyway, so I did say the line “I’ll be back,” and sure enough when the movie came out I had people come up to me and say “Say the line, say the line.” I said “What line?” They said “I’ll be back,” and I said “I’ll be back.” They said “No, no, no; the way you said it in the movie.” I said “I’ll be back.” They said “Yes, yes, that’s the way...” So I realised that line clicked with the people and it was a big line. But I did not know when I shot it. Then sometimes you do know. In Commando when I held the guy by his feet and said “I lied,” and then I dropped him. I knew that would be a funny line and would get a big laugh. So sometimes you know and sometimes you don’t know.

I think communication and how to talk to the people is the same as in show business. In acting class they taught you always about you have to be real, “Don’t act, be real. Connect with the people; connect with your partner that you’re acting with.” The same is also in politics. In politics you have to connect with the people. Some politicians talk like they’re talking to a wall and they cannot penetrate. I think that one thing that is extremely important is to connect with the people and to bring the people in to become your partners, in order to be successful. So there’s a lot of similarities. But then there’s a lot of differences also. Obviously I think for action fans, the finest moment of many action films is the one-liners. There’s so many great ones in this film. But I wondered, looking back over your illustrious career, if you could perhaps share with us what you think in your opinion have been some of the best and perhaps worst that you’ve ever had the privilege to utter on screen. Sly: I guess my best is “Yo Adrian...” It’s one thing you just can’t criticise. Some of the worst would have to be perhaps

Obviously training now, you probably have to approach it slightly differently to how you would earlier in your career. How have you adapted how you train to meet those demands? Arnold: Yes, I do the curls first now. I do the squats last. I think that Sly always used a much more scientific way of training. Always, what I remember, you were hungry always what was the latest method and what is the latest findings and study and all of that stuff. He’s right that I come much more from the old school. I believe in reps and to just do it every day for an hour a day.

THE BANTER | 47

Movies I do the same exercises I did 50 years ago and they still work. I eat the same food I did 50 years ago and it still works. I have a great time; I’m addicted to exercising; I have to do it every day. Have to do something every day and then also some cardiovascular training.

started meaning a lot to me. So I also watched Hercules movies. One guy in particular, Reg Park, which is a British bodybuilder who became Mr. Universe at a very young age, then won it a second time and a third time. Then landed in Rome and did Hercules movies.

Here in London it has been fun because they have the Boris bikes all over London. So we go bicycle riding here and sightseeing at the same time and having a great time. But to me, exercise has always been part of my life. Also watching what you eat.

So I thought he was my idol. I read everything about Reg Park and followed his footsteps and trained like him. I said “If he can make it, I can make it.” It was a blueprint, basically, of how to get there, how to win the championships. Here was the training laid out, this is how you get into movies, become a Mr. Universe and then make Hercules movies. I thought “This is terrific; this is exactly the route I’m going to go.”

But it is, without any doubt, tougher as you get older. Your metabolism slows down, your muscles don’t respond exactly the same way anymore than when you do action scenes and fight scenes or running around. You take longer to recuperate. But, so what? It doesn’t matter. It’s not like we don’t get paid for it. It’s not like we don’t have a good time. It’s not like we’re not passionate about what we’re doing. It’s all terrific. No matter what age you’re in, we have a great time. We had a great time working with all of the action stars that were in the movie. It was the first time I worked with Jason and it was terrific working with him. He’s such a talented actor and is so believable on the screen. He really shines in this movie again, so I’m happy about that. Everyone was terrific to work with. Sylvester Stallone: Mine is obviously going lighter and more scientific, and using the equipment that they are actually using with Olympians today, and plyometrics. It just seems to be... Actually, it’s more fun than just a regular iron game. You guys practically invented this kind of action movie genre. But I just wondered, when you were younger, did you have a kind of role model for this kind of genre? I’m thinking about Kirk Douglas maybe or... Sly: Yes, growing up I of course admired physically, the first time I saw Hercules Unchained, just something snapped in my brain. Because I was very, very thin and I had no direction, the usual adolescent insecurities. From that point on I had a real male role model. Of course modelling yourself after Hercules is kind of a difficult thing when you’re skinny, but that was it. Then of course the actors at the time, I was just drawn to heroes like Kirk Douglas in The Vikings. That primarily was it. But when Arnold and I got into the action genre, there really wasn’t an action genre. There’d be car chases and there’d be maybe a fist fight, but the actual genre is something that just grew up around us. We were pretty instrumental in it, but unwearyingly so, it just happened. Arnold: I remember when I was around 14/15 years old I got to that age where physicalstrength and athletics, and looking like a he-man and all this stuff, really 48 | THE BANTER

So yes, he was an idol; he was a very important motivating factor for me that gave me a vision of where I could go and how I could get there. Then of course there was American stars, obviously Kirk Douglas, but John Wayne comes to my mind, I saw a lot of the John Wayne movies that were very heroic to me. So it was that age and they were very inspirational. I took it a step further than most kids did that said “I like that, I’m going to go and work out a little bit.” To me it was right away “I’m going to win the championship; I’m going to get in the movies; I’m going to make millions of dollars like Reg Park The Expendables 2 is out on Blu-ray, DVD and Download on December 10, courtesy of Lions Gate Home Entertainment.

Movies

BRAVE Moms WALT DISNEY STUDIOS HOME ENTERTAINMENT  “Feast Yer Eyes”; and what a feast it is. Brave offers both young and older audiences a chance to become part of the magic of Scotland and proves that cartoons are not just for kids. It is child-friendly enough to keep it fun and light but it has an edge to it, something that adults can find interesting. The writers have very greatly found a middle ground with the humour so that it can be an excellent watch for all ages. The story begins with Merida (Kelly MacDonald), a young, wilful Princess who wishes only to carve out her own future; however her mother, Queen Elinor (Emma Thompson), has other plans. She wishes that tradition be followed and that Merida find her betrothed by arranging the most eligible of men from the surrounding clans to fight in the Highland Games for her hand. Inevitably, Merida refuses to follow this tradition and this creates huge rivalry between the clans and as she runs off, she leaves her father, King Fergus (Billy Connelly) to deal with the mess. Merida finds herself in the hands of The Witch (Julie Walters) who agrees to help her by giving her a fate-changing spell to release her from her mother’s diplomatic ways. The terrible spell forces Merida and her mother to work together to rebuild their bond before the spell becomes permanent. But is it too late?

As it is ‘set’ in Scotland, I was worried that even though there was a hugely acclaimed Scottish cast, that it might be overly stereo-typed and cheesy, but it is surprisingly refreshing to watch a movie about Scotland and Scottish people that shows great attention to detail with the storyline and character portrayal. It’s full of folklore and old Scottish myths which make it fun and relatable, like stories your Granny tells you. Watching Brave, you will spend 93 minutes reaching both ends of the emotional scale; clutching your chest with laughter and then slumped on the couch, tissue in hand in a fight to hold back the tears. In the production for Brave, Pixar re-wrote all of the animation system’s programming for the first time in 25 years to make the best quality animations possible to give the audience the most realistic movie experience available in modern film production. With voices from big-time actors such as Kevin McKidd, Robbie Coltrane and Craig Ferguson you know that you are in for an absolute treat. Brave is released on 3D Blu-Ray, Blu-Ray and DVD on 26th November 2012 and features all kinds of never-before-seen extras, bonus material and Directors Commentary. BY POLLY BROWN

50 | THE BANTER

Life has its ups and downs You can talk confidentially online or by phone whenever you need to. Whatever your worry, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s better out than in.

www.childline.org.uk ChildLine is a service provided by the NSPCC. Registered charity numbers 216401 and SC037717. 7244/11

Feature Every hour there is approximately 114,000 garments of clothing thrown away in the UK

JUST SHWOP.... W

e all know that feeling, that terrible moment when your parents tell you that your older cousin or sibling or insert any distant relation here has donated some clothes to you. It’s a feeling of sheer dread and when the ominous black bag of bad decisions and fashion disasters is brought into your room and then set down with a soft whoosh like a sigh of disappointment. Through this scarring moment very few people really get over the idea of hand-me-downs. It’s a word which strikes fear into many hearts but thanks to clever clogs Marks & Spencers this is a thing of the past! Good old M&S launched its idea of ‘Shwopping’ earlier this year to try and encourage people to stop throwing away clothing and to abolish the ‘disposable clothing’ culture.

Now, what all of you need to know about Shwopping; M&S have teamed up with Oxfam to ensure that all old clothes aren’t just added to the rubbish heaps. Clothes that can be reused will either be resold at one of Oxfam’s charming little shops (keep an eye our for their specialist designer outlets, they are well worth a rummage), online or even at festivals. Clothes that can’t be worn again but could be repurposed are sold back to designers to become part of new collections which means that you have contributed to a new collection. Well done, you are now part of the fashion industry with minimal effort! 52 | THE BANTER

Not only are M&S and Oxfam reusing clothes they’re recycling too; clothes that don’t have any fight left in them, even if it’s ripped, torn or stained beyond the abilities of even the most capable dry cleaner (thank you red wine) then step away from the bin, M&S still want those threads! Items like these are sent to processing plants and the fibres are repurposed in varying ways depending on how damaged they are. Some of them get taken back down to fibres which can make loads of things and others go towards making things like mattress filling and carpet underlay, a comforting thought. It’s also handy to know that M&S aren’t just looking for your holey jumpers and stained tops though, they’re also keen to get their mitts on your old jewellery, bags, shoes, and, from the ladies, any old bras as they’re items that are very much in demand in the third world. Just think, you could send that old bra your ex bought you half way around the world instead of just half way down the country to a landfill. Every extra mile away from you is a bonus and it will go to someone who really needs it. What could be better? So what can you do? Next time you go to have a clear out and you think no one could ever possibly want those skin tight faux leather hot pants then don’t instantly chuck them onto a landfill site (thrown out clothes actually contribute around 500,000 tonnes of rubbish each year) take them down to your local M&S along with any other clothes you want to rehome,

Feature

pop them in the Shwop Drop Box and then the magic begins. You can also Shwop in Oxfam stores and, even better, if you donate M&S clothing in Oxfam you get a voucher for £5 off your next £35 or more spend on clothing in M&S, as if giving to charity wasn’t rewarding enough, they’re just spoiling you now! It’s worthwhile remembering that there are plenty of other charity shops on the high street and they are always really keen for donations, especially clothes, so pick your favourite and get down there with a bag of your hand-me-downs and maybe you’ll find yourself a little upgrade while you’re in. Every hour there is approximately 114,000 garments of clothing thrown away in the UK and this is something that M&S and Oxfam are working together to try and stop. Landfills are not a permanent solution and surely anything that’s done to reduce the amount of rubbish we put into them is a good idea. M&S’s aim is to make Shwopping the norm and to get as many people in on it as possible

STARS PUT THEIR BEST JUMPERS ON FOR SAVE THE CHILDREN

yleene Klass, Mark Wright and other celebrities have all posed for photographs in the festive woollies they will be wearing on Christmas Jumper Day on December 14, to mark their support for the Save the Children campaign Christmas Jumper Day.

Shwopping is sort of a clothing revolution, it turns one person’s trash into another person’s treasure. Just imagine, clothes that you had given up on and forgotten about at the back of your wardrobe could become someone else’s favourite garment and that, you’ll have to agree, is kind of amazing. So what are you waiting for? Get down to your local M&S armed with bags of those clothes you keep because you’re waiting to find a purpose for (M&S and Oxfam will find one for you), get them into the Shwop Drop Box and let the good vibes roll. To find out where your local M&S Shwop Box is visit: http://www.marksandspencer.com/Shwopping-StoresShwop/b/1742543031 For your local Oxfam visit: http://www.oxfam.org.uk/shop/local-shops

People across the UK are being invited to take part in the age-old tradition of wearing a kitsch Christmas jumper on the day in exchange for a £1 donation, helping to ‘make the world better with a sweater.’ All money raised will help save the lives of the world’s most vulnerable children. In the world’s poorest countries, more than 7 million children die every year from easily preventable causes like diarrhoea and malnutrition. Simple solutions, like vaccines and mosquito nets save lives – so by getting friends and colleagues to take part in Save the Children’s Christmas Jumper day on 14 December, you can help make a real difference. TV personality Myleene Klass said: “Save the Children’s Christmas Jumper Day is the perfect excuse to wear your festive woolly with pride, whilst helping to save children’s lives. I’ve visited Save the Children’s work in Bangladesh so know just how far your donated £1 can go. I’ll be buying crazy knits for my friends and family to ensure they are all taking part on December 14th.”

BY ALYCE MACPHERSON

THE BANTER | 53

Feature

NEVER WASTE A MINUTE VOLUNTEER FOCUS - LAUREN LOCHRIE

54 | THE BANTER

Feature

lydebank woman Lauren Lochrie has always recognised the benefits of volunteering, and has used it as a way to gain practical experience during her time of studying and later, employment. Still aged only 26, Lauren’s extensive volunteering CV shows the interesting and exciting opportunities she has already taken on...all leading up to her most recent employed post. While at university, Lauren volunteered in the university garden and with also alongside a PhD student helping with surveys of newts. Throughout her 3rd year of university, Lauren volunteered as an Ambassador of Science with the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Network (STEMNET) Scotland. She visited a range of schools several times a year, giving talks on conservation & biological topics. Graduating from Glasgow University in 2010 with BSc Zoology Honours Degree, Lauren began work with the Scottish Wildlife Trust. Then came one of her more unusual roles - ‘Dinosaur Keeper’ at Chester Zoo. A role which gave her the chance to share her knowledge as she engaged the public with props and also gave dinosaur tours. Her interest in all things environmental also led Lauren in 2011 to volunteer time with the Zero Waste Scotland volunteering initiative in Glasgow – one of the duties being attending the BBC Good Food Show to promote the Love Food Hate Waste programme. 2012 brought new challenges as Lauren trained as a guide with a company providing school trips and children’s adventure holidays in UK. Trough this she gained an Activity Instructor/Group Leader certificate which she put to good use later that year working as an Education Ranger at Kelburn Castle & Country Centre for a few months before going on to work as a Summer School Teacher at Edinburgh Zoo. At the end of the school holiday season, Lauren started as a full-time volunteer for RSPB at the Lochwinnoch Reserve in the role of Family and Events Volunteer Officer. Recently, Lauren has used all of her education and volunteering experience to shine through in a recent interview and gained employment with Zero Waste Scotland as a Volunteer Coordinator in the East Ayrshire area. In this post, Lauren will train and support volunteers at local events, promoting the Love Food Hate Waste engagement programme, talking about how to recycle more and helping people reduce their waste at home.

THE BANTER | 55

Feature SUPPORT IS OUR SPORT SCOTLANDS SEARCH FOR 15000 VOLUNTEERS

ant to be part of the 2014 Commonwealth Games? The Glasgow 2014 Organising Committee recently opened the official 2014 Volunteer Centre, beginning the search for the 15,000 volunteers needed to help support the Games. Building on the success of the Games Makers volunteer programme during the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, Glasgow 2014 is seeking its own team of friendly faces to help deliver the largest sporting and cultural event ever hosted in Scotland. Lord Smith, Chair of Glasgow 2014, who along with Clyde, the 2014 Games Mascot, opened the Volunteer Centre, said: “One of my lasting memories of attending the London 2012 Olympics is the immense contribution made by the Games Makers and now we are looking to find up to 15,000 people of our own to help deliver a successful Commonwealth Games here in Scotland. The Volunteering Programme plans to engage a diverse, inclusive and committed group of volunteers to support Glasgow 2014 across all strands of the Games. Not all of the roles will be high profile or in the frontline and many might be away from the athletes. But, they are all

56 | THE BANTER

crucial to making sure the Games run smoothly. Roles available will range from volunteers to welcome athletes at the airport or at the Athletes’ Village, assist in the dining areas, driving athletes and officials seamlessly around the city, help behind the scenes or by directing people at the venues. A range of more specialist roles will also be available to ensure that the sport competitions run smoothly – these roles will all require volunteers to have some previous experience or to hold qualifications in sport or first aid. But the vast majority of roles just need friendly people, who are committed to helping make this the best show that Scotland has ever seen. The programme has received the backing of a large number of agencies and organisations across Scotland including Enable Scotland and the network of Third Sector Interfaces, who will help publicise the opportunity across Scotland. George Thomson, Chief Executive of Volunteer Development Scotland said: “Glasgow 2014’s Organising Committee has worked extremely hard ahead of the launch of what I am sure will prove to be an outstanding volunteer programme. At Volunteer Development Scotland we will do everything

we can to promote the wide range of opportunities the Games will create across an array of roles. From our own experience, we know the level of commitment that volunteers make, but also the many rewards that come with that.

Feature

We are all being asked if we are ready to help make the Games a success and the resounding answer is that we are. I am confident the public will give their time and energy to help deliver a fantastic event.” Located in Glasgow’s Merchant City, the Centre will act as the hub for the volunteering profile of the Games. One of its first tasks will be to support the anticipated 1,000 interviews per week for the huge range of volunteer roles on offer – interviews commence in April 2013. Lord Smith, added “I would urge those considering being a volunteer to register their interest online at the first opportunity and for them to begin to think about how they personally could assist Glasgow 2014 in making this an event to remember.”

One of my lasting memories of attending the London 2012 Olympics is the immense contribution made by the Games Makers..... Applications for volunteer positions in 2014 formally open to the public in mid-January 2013. The application process is all completed online. To make sure everyone can get involved, Glasgow 2014 has been working with a number of organisations including the Scottish Library Information Council (SLIC) to arrange nationwide support for anyone wanting to play their part. All volunteers are required to be 16 years or over when applications open in mid-January, be eligible to work in the UK and must be available for at least eight days during the Games themselves between July 23 and August 3 in 2014. Shona Robison, Minister for Commonwealth Games and Sport said “I know that Scots love to get stuck in and play their part in making activities in their communities a success, and so I’d like to encourage everyone to consider volunteering for the 2014 Games and being part of something special.” Interested? Ahead of applications opening in mid January, you can register an interest by logging on to www. glasgow2014.com/volunteer. Any questions? The Contact Centre for Glasgow 2014 is available to deal with any volunteering or general queries and can be reached by calling 030 3333 2014 or emailing contactus@ glasgow2014.com THE BANTER | 57

Feature

ho can remember the last time the top of the Christmas charts wasn’t controlled by Simon Cowell and the world of reality television? It seems that for as long as most of us can remember, he’s been raking in all the cash from his TV show prodigies being crowned Christmas number 1. Even in 2009 after an internet campaign that saw Rage Against The Machine beat Joe McElderry to the top spot. The victory for the real music fans out there was short lived as the teenager made it to the number 1 position a week later and Cowell ended up with twice as much publicity in the process. It was actually back in 2005 that Simon Cowell started his bid to take over the Christmas number 1 spot with Shayne Ward and the X Factor’s winners single That’s My Goal. Since then he’s managed to get Leona Lewis, Leon Jackson, Alexandra Burke and Matt Cardle in that coveted spot. But it seems that formula has become a little stale and it’s not just the public who are starting to get bored by it all. Last year The X Factor winners released their song a week early so while Little Mix got to the number 1 spot, they were beaten to theChristmas number 1 by Military Wives. And it seems Mr Cowell has taken an even newer approach to it all this year too. Instead of doing a collective charity single halfway through the series with all the contestants (which always ends up at the top of the charts too), he’s decided to donate all the proceeds of the winner’s single to charity. The sceptics among us (Yes, I am one of them) will think it’s just a pl0y to make sure the single stands up against the other charity ones being released in December. But whatever Simon’s reasons are, you can’t question how clever he’s treating the biggest chart race of the year.

58 | THE BANTER

While some people (myself included) moan about the fact the X Factor takes over the chart in December, there have also been some other very questionable acts in that spot over the past 20 years. In 2000 Bob The Builder was crowned number one, and even more questionable was in 1993 when Mr Blobby was number 1. So is it time that we just accepted that the Christmas number 1 has long become a joke? And gone are the days of proper Christmas songs? I mean the last time we had a really good Christmas song was probably in 1994 whenEast 17 released Stay Another Day and it stayed in the top position for several weeks. Yeah, the Spice Girls has three Christmas number 1’s in the 90s but none of them were quite as festive as the East 17 song. And even then it never quite lived up the classic Christmas songs by Cliff Richard, Slade or Band Aid which will always go down as the most memorable Christmas songs ever. And almost 40 years on from when Slade released Merry Xmas Everybody, it’s still one of the most played songs in December. Will we be saying that about a Leon Jackson song in 40 years’ time? I am willing to bet £100 on the fact we won’t. So if like me you’re starting to get bored of the man in the high waisted trousers controlling what ends up in our charts then you’re probably best buying one of the many Christmas albums that’s gets re-released every year. Sit back and enjoy the likes of Shakin’ Stevens with Merry Christmas Everyone and Cliff Richard with Mistletoe & Wine, as it’s probably going to a long time until something that good makes its way back into the charts. BY SARAH MOYES

MODEL BEHAVIOUR VOLUNTEERING - A fashion trend everyone can follow View the complete collection at www.volunteerscotland.org.uk

HEALTH & WELLBEING

CITIZENSHIP

Change Lifestyle

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

Placement While Studying New Services

Helping Others Getting Recognised Retirement

Give Something Back

Into Employment Career Change

SOCIAL CHANGE

Use Spare Time

Stronger Communities

Peer Support

EMPLOYMENT

Broaden Horizons

VOLUNTEER

New Skills

Bringing Communities Together

Meeting New People Use Your Skills

Change Your Community

ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION

Volunteer - Choose your destination. Whatever you want to do, wherever you want to go....volunteering can get you there. To book your journey call 0141 941 0886, text the word volunteer free on 80800 or visit www.volunteerscotland.org.uk