TrashPit Magazine Issue 1

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Robin Black Your New Favourite Band Trash the UK Interviews with Danger Danger, 4Oft Ringo Apes Pigs & Spacemen. CD & Live Reviews

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TrashPit 95 Flamstead Ave, Loscoe, Heanor, Derbyshire DE75 7RP ENGLAND Mobile: O77O3 884l96 Email: rob@trashpit.co.uk Web: www.trashpit.co.uk

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A friend of mine once told me that if you get seriously into music and bands in your teens and you’re still feeling the same way, as passionate and excited, once you hit your mid twenties then that will never go away, you’re stuck with it for life! This I think is certainly a real true comment as I’m sure most of you out there will agree but what relevance does this have with a magazine editorial I hear you ask?

Well, not a great deal but some of you out there will, if I’m lucky, remember my last fanzine SoundCheck which did the local circuit for a couple years. After about a dozen issues I got burnt out and welcomed the opportunity for a rest from spending a full day at work then having several hours of typing waiting for me when I got home! But the last year or so I’ve found myself becoming even more

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passionate about music than ever before, whether it be going to a live show, playing in my own band or just buying a new album from a great new artist. The UK has been blessed with some awesome bands over the last few months, both homegrown and international acts touring over here, and I just felt it was time to get back in front of the screen and start giving some of my favourite bands some well deserved exposure as best I can.

I sincerely hope you enjoy this first issue of TrashPit and thanks for taking the time to check us out. Let us know of any bands you like because there’s no boundaries to the kind of bands TrashPit will cover just as long as they play great tunes, simple as that! Hope to see you for issue 2..........

• TRASHPIT Issue 1 - Autumn 2003 • Editor - ROB LANE • All Articles, Reviews & Photographs by ROB LANE unless otherwise stated. © 2003 For What It’s Worth Promotions Robin Black Promo Photographs - Paula Wilson paulawilsonphoto.com • Apes, Pigs & Spacemen Photos - Cameron Jinks 40ft Ringo Photo - Jim Desalvo • AntiProduct Photo - Mark Weiss

Kevin Doyle & Recoil Adverts full pagE £25 half page £15 quarter £1O

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AntiProduct Made in USA

Apes, Pigs & Spacemen Free Pawn

KISS Alive IV

Livewire / Cargo Very few albums manage to capture real energy. Every artist or band will tell you that they'd love to grab the feel of their live performance and lay it down on tape but can never manage it, leaving recording's sounding impressive but lacking that integral spark. Then there's AntiProduct! I will be the first to admit that it would be impossible to put the explosive performance that AntiProduct produce on stage onto CD but 'Made In The USA' is perhaps one of the best examples of an album set to spontaneously combust! At any moment you feel that there's so much going on that it's gonna spill out of the speakers who says big isn't better? From the initial onslaught of opener 'Thank God I'm Right' the band never let up with hardly a seconds breather between songs, this is bubblegum pop put through a blender and being all the better for it. What is special is the way the band can hold together mountains of guitars, drums and distortion and manage to coat it with the sweetest of vocal harmonies and sky high choruses. An over the top monster of an album from a band who you wouldn’t expect anything less. In a word - Awesome!

9/10

Phat Monkey Five years between albums is a long time and a lot can happen. This is definitely true in the case of AP&S contract problems, breakups, new bands, further breakups and finally a return full circle to what the band and it’s members do best. Free Pawn, the name sums it up - former ‘chess pieces’ in the machine that is the music industry, finally free to do whatever the hell they like on their own terms - is an accomplished and thoughtful third and far from final chapter in the saga of a band that many had left for dead. Lead track ‘Dumb’ sets the scene with it’s chant along hook line, edging into the brooding ‘Bored of Everything’. This is an album that certainly takes time to grab hold but once it does the melodies are lodged permanently in your brain. Ever present are the scarily tight arrangements and some clever, quirky samples yet the Apes can certainly still raise the stakes in the riff arena with tracks like ‘No One’ and ‘Revolution’ which will keep the Slipknot kids more than happy. Free Pawn is perhaps not as commercial and radio friendly as 95’s Snapshot but it is a fine return for one the countries most powerful bands.

7/10

Sanctuary No matter which way you look at it, KISS have always done things with style and Alive IV was never going to be any different. Okay, perhaps Metallica played with a symphony orchestra first but they didn’t do it with the over the top, rock and roll bombast that Kiss have managed with this massive double CD set. Getting the whole of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra to wear the full KISS make up is a sight to truly behold and the three Act set list gives us the full KISS experience. Act One is the classic Alive onslaught with ‘Deuce’ and ‘Strutter’ but with the added bonus of the post make-up ‘Lick it Up’ and recent ‘Psycho Circus’. Act Two, an acoustic set featuring strings, treats us to the beautiful ‘Forever’ and pop tinged ‘Shandi’, and finally the band strike up with the full blown orchestra with awe inspiring results. From an outside point of view Alive IV could be viewed as a ridiculous, overblown rock cliche but at the end of the day that’s KISS and only they could get away with it! As Paul Stanley states during the set ‘People said we were crazy to attempt this, maybe we are, but that’s what makes us KISS’ - right on!

8/10

BRET MICHAELS

SONGS OF LIFE Jani Lane Back Down to One

Bret Michaels Songs of Life

Sugar Ray In the Pursuit of Leisure

Z Records Jani Lane has perhaps never been given the mainstream credit he deserves when it comes to his songwriting ability. The Warrant frontman has always been overshadowed by the curse of the ‘hair band’ era but his debut solo album, which has been on the cards for almost ten years, gives him his chance to not only answer some critics but to assemble a quality collection of top class and exciting power pop tunes.

The songs all have Lane’s stamp of infectious, melodic hooks with that unique dark overtone which have become characteristic of recent Warrant material. The only down side being that Lane rarely strays from this format. Other than the lilting feel of ‘How a Girl’ and acoustic hook and left field melody of ‘Hooked’ things tend to blend into one somewhat. Then again if it’s not broken, why fix it? ‘Cause there’s no denying the awesome feel of ‘Better than You’ and the bass driven power of the title track, and each song on the album easily stands well above most of the radio friendly rock currently doing the rounds.

‘Back Down to One’ is an album that will more than satisfy fans of Warrant and is likely to attract fans of Nu Breed Pop with it’s great edgy pop feel. Overall, it’s a great listen but there’s no real surprises on show here and no real standout tracks leaving you feeling that this album could have been, and really should have been, so much better.

6/10

Poorboy Records Another solo album from one of the most well known hard rock frontmen of recent years see’s Poison mainman Bret Michaels heading out on his own with ‘Songs of Life’. This isn’t the first time Michaels has toyed with solo material and this is represented with the bonus tracks, the real tongue in cheek but scarily autobiographical ‘Party Rock Band’ from the ‘Letter from Death Row’ soundtrack and ‘Stay with Me’ from the ‘Ballads, Blues and Stories’ album.

‘Songs of Life’ is exactly what you’d expect and certainly doesn’t stray from the Poison blueprint. Opener ‘Menace to Society’ plays with the tired working man, day job theme but manages to pull it off with it’s party anthem feel. From here the album chops and changes at a great pace blending Poison-esque rock tunes such as ‘Strange Sensation’ with Michaels trademark heartbreak ballads such as ‘Raine’ and ‘One More Day’.

Yes, it’s nothing really new with some added cheese in parts, ‘Loaded Gun’ and ‘It’s My Party’ for example, but it’s a real varied album with some quality tracks which makes for a rewarding listen for both Poison fans and those who simply like good quality rock and roll. Michaels has delivered some of his best material on ‘Songs For Life’ and after almost twenty years in the business and considering he still looks not a day older than he did when Poison first started he’s going to be around for a long time to come!

7/10

Atlantic Anyone fancy an alternative soundtrack to the summer? I’m not on about a windows down, cruising rock anthem album to raise the roof, I’m talking about something to chill out to but still have that great summer rock edge. Well any album with the title ‘In the Pursuit of Leisure’ has just got to be oozing cool, and it surely does. Sugar Ray are a band I’ve never paid much attention to.

Their singles in the past have been pleasant enough but never really grabbed my attention, then I was lucky enough to catch them live and was totally blown away by their brilliant performance and sound. Their new album combines their passion for rock with a Caribbean twist, with its great acoustic melodies and harmonies.

‘Chasin’ You Around’ has to have one of the catchiest lyrics put to disk and ‘Mr Bartender(It’s So Easy)’ just drips with 80’s pop cheese in all the right places.

One thing that’s evident from this collection of songs is that Sugar Ray couldn’t give a damn what anyone thinks about their music, they just do what they do and you either like it or not.

Some might say that the wide variety of songs on show, the acoustic and trippy ‘Whatever’ and the garage trash of ‘In through the Doggie Door’ could be two different bands, are a band with no real direction, but Sugar Ray are just having fun and letting you come along for the ride. Now where’s the suncream?

7/10

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Running into Apes, Pigs & Spacemen singer, songwriter Paul Miro a year and a half ago, his view on the music industry would have been very negative. It seemed he had been let down by an industry that allowed him to do the thing he loved the most. Today though, Paul seems a totally new person, once again enthusiastic about his music and when you speak to him about the return of the APES he speaks with the excitement of a teenager getting ready for his first ever gig! Several elements turned things around, the acoustic project ‘Blood Simple’ which Paul describes as ‘therapy’, the dance/rock hybrid INC. which ‘filled a space’, and even writing his own book which is set to be ‘a great comedy rock novel’ but is currently on hold as it perhaps contains a little too much personal stuff. It was the reunion though with APES bassist Bart to work on new music which really brought things back on track. Five years of silence from the APES following their bitter contract disputes have now come to an end with the release of a new album ‘Free Pawn’ on their own label. I spoke to Paul back in May on the eve of the bands return live gig after five years, to catch up on everything that’s happened and what’s in store for the APES. Does it feel weird to be back out using the APES name once again?

If you’d have asked me six months ago then the answer would have been 'Yes' because we never intended it to be the APES. We'd got over all the legal stuff but technically couldn't use the name so we'd written that off. Bart and myself were working on an EP, and we went to his studio to mix it and overnight we found ourselves working together again, it was just unbelievable.

It's not really a concept thing but most albums tend to have a theme or feel of some kind. The segways have usually got some relevance to the track they precede or the track they're after. I loved stuff like the Prince albums were they never stopped. Because of the links each song kind of segways, opposed to it being twelve separate tracks, something binds them together. Even if it's not a topic, it's something that leads you in so you want to listen from start to finish. Not many people listen to whole albums nowadays, they just skip to the single or favourite track, but I like to think we don't put 'fillers' on our albums.

Have you and Bart constantly stayed in touch and was it always an intention to get the band back together once the contract problems were cleared?

We've always stayed in touch but with the band there was just so much shit and it was too painful. But every single person we've spoken to and anytime anyone's heard a snippet of the music we were doing said it was sounding so much like the APES. So after a few phonecalls we found out we could use the name again, so we just said lets do it!

Because of the technology available do you think there are now 2 sides of the music industry today - the majors and the independents running side by side?

I don't think it's quite there yet but technology has been hugely responsible for what you can do independently. The worst thing about the music industry from our experience is the biggest debt you run up from recording an album. The

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The songs and sound on FREE PAWN aren’t a vast departure from the first two albums which still sound very modern and 'now' even though it's 5 years since the last one was released - do you think the APES were ahead of their time judging from the current musical climate?

It has been said a lot of times before. We were out with the band Elviss a few weeks ago whose guitarist was in the last lineup of the APES, and all their band and crew were saying like 'Your time has come now!' At the time were getting dissed by the traditional rock press for being up our own arses but now with things like dare I say, Linkin Park - the tight riffs, the dynamics, the melody over heaviness which I suppose to a degree Faith No More did, it does suggest that we were ahead of our time. I don't like to think like that though because I've always written the way I do.

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Interludes have always been a feature of APES albums, what's the reasoning behind that? Is it a concept thing or more to add to the flow of the album?

first two APES albums probably cost around a quarter of a million quid with everything involved, but owning your own studio and recording an album of this quality, the prospect and actual concept of doing that five years ago, you could just forget it. That doesn't mean people know how to use the technology! We were fortunate enough to learn from recording in actual studios and seeing how things work. Also, because of the system now were bands don't get a development deal of three or so albums to make their mark, I hope we'll get a lot more strong albums made by bands themselves independently without outside influence.

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“I was always into the punkier side of music and came across metal fairly late ...I'm more of a blues player really!”

With it just being yourself and Bart, were the new tracks 'built' in the studio as there wasn't a band to rehearse and jam with? How different was this from past projects?

The first two APES albums were done in exactly the same way. I'd demo the songs, do everything and then present it to the band or whoever was around and we'd work on it in a live context. This time I'd wrote a bunch of tracks, Bart and myself

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Which bands would you like to see APES touring with this time around?

Top of the list would be System of a Down, which would be immense! It's kind of like Primus without the time signatures, they're mental but unique! No matter how heavy they get it's still based around song structures. There's also bands like The Wildhearts which would be a really good tour for us. It's bizarre because we've toured with them before and now there's all this feedback which is asking whose been fucked over the most, the Wildhearts or the APES? Everyone bags us as the same sort of 'corporate victims' that are fighting back but at the time when we both first came out there was two kind of crowds, the Wildhearts and the APES and never the twain shall meet.

picked up the song because it was cheap.

Sent him an email and he got back to me straight away saying he'd been trying to get in contact with me for two years because he was an APES fan and he'd had a hard

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went through on acoustics for weeks and weeks fine tuning arrangements and then the only difference was that the drums had to be programmed. I suppose in the long run it takes a lot longer but I love programming drums!

Miro on playing guitar live time getting permission to use the track. He went on to tell me about a new film he was making and wanted me to put some APES music to it. He sent me the script and I wrote a bunch of incidental music along with the ‘Dead Room’ which became the first new APES track. So if there's one person responsible for the APES being back together then it's Ian David Diaz, the director of The Killing Zone.

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You're very influenced by artists such as Bowie and Tom Waits but were do your 'rock' influences come from?

I was a massive Zeppelin fan as a kid, I loved Pink Floyd but that was never really 'rock', I just love Dave Gilmore's guitar work. I was never really someone who listened to metal. I was always into the punkier side of music and came across metal fairly late with bands like Helmet, Rage and Faith No More. I'm more of a blues player really!

Has it been inspiring to see how successful the website has been and how many people out there are still very much interested in the band?

The only way people had been able to get hold of us before was through name searches and links from other sites which ended up with it being a personal email. Because the APES were 'Dead' as far as we were concerned and couldn't do anything about it, it was quite painful getting all those emails. You had a good feeling that we hadn't done anything wrong but the tone of virtually every email was 'Why? What happened? This band was great!' So we didn't really know what to expect, we just put the site up and waited to see what happened. I think we got two thousand hits in the first two weeks and since then it's been a steady five hundred or so a week since then. It's a lot of new people each time too, even though the Forum is a small batch of people, when we go through the administration to see who's visiting the site it's a lot of different people!

You've had two songs on movie soundtracks (Dead Room on The Dead Room and Great Place from the first album on The Killing Zone) is this something you enjoy and do you find it easy to write with a movie in mind?

Sometime ago I was getting emails from old APES fans asking me why we didn't tell them we'd put a track on a film. I tracked this film down, saw it and contacted the director just to say thanks for using the song. Me being cynical and having five years experience with Music For Nations figured he'd

What is the new APES line up?

We've always had this thing of getting really professional people who seem prepared to give up what they're doing because they believe in this band. Tom Meadows, who was the INC. drummer and one of the head guys at Drum Tech was one of those and from the minute I left INC. he wanted this gig. Milly our guitarist is in a band called Butterfinger and he's just a riff monster, a really great guitar player. I'll be playing some guitar but we're trying to strip it to the point were I'm not playing that much because I don't want to be tied - the Apes is physical!

For more information visit: www.apespigsandspacemen.com The new album ‘FREE PAWN’ is out now on Phat Monkey Recordings and is available from the bands website or from www.changesone.co.uk Read the Trashpit Review in this issue

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Robin Black

The Intergalactic RockStars Robin Black is feeling good! Sitting in Nottingham’s Junktion7 in the middle of July, he seems totally at home. Drinking bottled water, the Canadian singer is on a natural high as the bands second UK tour is coming to a close and once again the response has been phenomenal. A double support/headline venture, part with AOR legends Danger Danger and part out on their own, Robin Black and the Intergalactic Rockstars have brought back the feel good factor of rock and roll that has been missing for a long, long time. Yes, we can be grateful that guitar bands are back in fashion but very few contain the amount of passion and excitement that Black and his bandmates can produce. They are a kind of Rolling Stones / Poison hybrid for a new generation! Might sound strange but it’s true, with their modern glam image coupled with a classic lineup. As the tour drew to a close the larger than life but highly friendly and approachable Robin Black was more than happy to indulge in speaking about his band and recent venture across UK soil.

The tour is finishing this weekend what have been some of the highlights?

It's all been good but for some reason when we got into Nottingham today I just began to feel 'real' good. It's a very strange thing but this place is beginning to feel like home to me. You recognise the streets, you see people you know, you have a beer at your favourite pub - Nottingham's definitely starting to be my second home. It's going to be like a homecoming gig, it'll be like playing Toronto tonight.

I remember being a ten year old kid who dreamed of travelling around the world, playing with my band every night, meeting cool people and making an impact on people's lives and we're doing that and it's so fucking cool. Although I feel great today I begin to feel a bit sad when I realise there's only two or three shows left because it's all so much fun and it's all I ever wanted to do with my life. The first night we were here a girl came up to us in the Tap & Tumbler in Nottingham, my favourite pub, and asked to get Ky's autograph and the next day she showed up with it tattooed on her back, which I thought was a cool way to start the trip. It puts pressure on you though, I would never, ever have my favourite band tattooed on my arm because what if their next record is so bad it doesn't move you any more? When you see someone with your name tattooed on them you have to make sure that every piece of music and show you make is so good that they're proud to wear that tattoo.

It's pretty wild to keep touring an album that's a year and a half old and feeling how much people still appreciate that record. When you make an album you don't realise that a year and a half later there'll still be people discovering it and loving it. It's a great fucking rush!

How much as the set and band developed over the last couple of weeks?

We've played a similar set every night which in someways is weird but we need some kind of structure because everything is so random and the show itself is so violent and unpredictable, and the physicality of what we do and how we interact with the crowds is so different. You need some structure even though the show seems different every night.

Even people who have seen us six or seven times don't even realise we play things in the same order. We've thrown in a few of the songs that are going to be on the next record which we're going to be doing with Bob Ezrin whose one of our heroes which is so exciting. He did KISS 'Destroyer', Pink Floyd 'The Wall' and did the early Alice Cooper records, he's a great man. It's great when you find a producer you really trust and can trust with the songs you've worked so hard on and are so special to you and to your fans.

He's been approaching us with different ideas which you can do when you trust someone but in the end it's how the fans react to how a song turns out.

You've made England your second home, what are you going to miss and most look forward to when you come back?

It's a beautiful country and my mother's Welsh so I have some background over here. We love to come over because the people are so cool but I think the biggest thing is that we're so excited to bring the thing that was so important and passionate to us and bring it to other people all over the world. Canada we've broken and done really well, and we've started to play America but England is the second place that proved to us that what we do is special. Music seems important in peoples lives here and as a result if they keep getting fed the same kind of crap over and over they're eventually going to look for

something different. Bands such as our friends The Murderdolls are doing great and I'm hearing that vibe about The Darkness all the time we've been here. We got the record and it's pretty cool but it's not as good as what we do. If you only have two great songs and a really nice, tight spandex outfit, that is not the future of rock and roll! That is something that in a culture and country starved for rock stars - they'll embrace it, but The Darkness are no were near as good or as special as us. I'm happy to see guys who obviously love rock and roll doing so well because there's so much bad music out there, but they are doing well because it's a novelty to see somebody who loves Queen and dirty arena rock and roll.

They aren't the greatest band in the world but it is fun to see them getting success, but you put Robin Black and The Darkness on the same bill and we will embarrass those fuckers!

The debut album has a very space age theme.

What was the inspiration behind that and will it continue with the second album?

When we started the band I had this passionate vision of us just arriving and exploding as if we came from outer space!

And that idea and that excitement coming from my own fascination in astronomy and life on other planets, shaped and morphed it's way into the way the record came out. We're not a concept band or obviously really from outer space and none of us are confused enough to think we are, we're a rock and roll band and I will always be proud of the way we presented that first record. Part of what we were thinking was if we were a fifteen year old kid discovering rock music for the first time, what kind of record would we like? Would we like to be steeped in beautiful rock and roll concepts and the answer was 'Yes'. When you grow up with bands like KISS and Bowie, whose albums had so much more than just the single and nine other songs, it's something you feel you want to do and you hope some kid feels the same kind of excitement as you did.

leaves that show they should either totally love us or hate us.

If somebody says 'How was that band?' and someone answers 'I guess they were okay, I didn't really pay attention.' I don't feel we did our job. There was no doubt the Danger Danger crowds were really receptive and lots of people bought our record and we managed to turn some old, weird mulleted fucks onto something new and cool and I'm proud of that!

If you could choose any of your heroes to tour with, who would it be?

I don't know because it's weird, when we open a show or go and see another band I imagine it always being about us and there’s a small twinge of jealousy when I'm the opening band. So I think my perfect tour would be us on the road with some of my heroes opening for us! Alice Cooper could open for us or maybe The Rolling Stones!!

How do English crowds compare to a Canadian audience?

Canada, like England, varies from area to area. In some places were people feel so isolated and there's all these individuals that are so different and they have nothing uniquely their own, when you go there they loose their minds! It's like they've been waiting five, six or seven months until this one big party led by this rock band happens and they go crazy! Even Toronto which is probably our biggest fanbase, there are lots of people who play in bands and see entertainment all the time and stand there with their arms crossed until you literally have to kick them in the face with your music, but I've never honestly had an unresponsive crowd.

How did the relationship between yourselves and TB Records begin?

When 'Planet Fame' came out in Canada (Valentines Day 2002) it immediately started to do well, the press was really interested, we were different, we made a good record. Our version of MTV, Much Music, was playing our video a lot and I've always wanted to start slowly going from country to

When you make an album you don't realise that a year and a half later there'll still be people discovering it and loving it. It's a great fucking rush!

What kind of response did you get from the Danger Danger crowd who tend to be very AOR / straight ahead Rock based? Was there any backlash or did they seem quite open to your musical style?

It was kind of odd because I'm so confident and so fully believe that what we do is good and can move people it felt weird playing in front of some of these people that seemed so committed to liking only one kind of music. But we go out there no matter who it is and do exactly our own thing and one thing that we always believe in is that whenever someone

country bringing our music to people, and the first people that came along to help us do that was TB Records. I'm so glad it was them because they're driven and hungry in love with what we do. One of the owners of the company was in Toronto on holiday visiting his girlfriends family. He turned on the TV, saw our 'So Sick of You' video and immediately phoned home and said 'We need to sign this band, we need to track them down and we need to do it now!' And now whatever we do or how far we go I will always be indebted to them for giving us our first shot outside of Canada.

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I kicked the door wide open and invited them in.

I wish them good luck but they'd better fuckin' thank me!

Robin Black on helping Canada’s Glam Rock bands

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We got Robin ‘Fuckin’ Black to take a pick from some of the world’s best known bands, with some interesting results!

KISS or Aerosmith?

I'll take Aerosmith because Tyler is one of the truly great frontmen of all time. I can look at that man today and see how great he is and feel like maybe I can do that!

When I see him I feel like I can do this for another 25 to 30 more years!

Poison or Motley Crue?

Poison. Why? Because everyone else would say Motley Crue!

Alice Cooper or Marilyn Manson?

I've never heard of Marilyn Manson!

Def Leppard or Bon Jovi?

How hard was it doing the kind of music you do to make an impact in a time when 'glam' and 'rock' was looked down upon?

Sometimes I'm really arrogant, sometimes I'm prickish, sometimes I'm rude about stuff and sometimes I'm boastful, but the dead truth is that there's very few bands like us on the planet and there was certainly nothing like us in Canada.

Nobody wanted any part of what we did or had any interest in it. There were press articles about how much they wanted us to go away and internet sites that said ‘Who do these guys think they are?!’ But we just kept doing what we do until really human fans, not assholes in suits, not some jackass that programmes the radio, but real people saw our shows and told others and those real people made it happen. So when we got played on Much Music (more times than N-Sync during 2002) and the radio picked up on us, it was the people who demanded that. Sheer force of will made it work in a country that nobody wanted anything to do with what we do. Now there are three or four bands that are kind of like us, and I don't care who the fuck they are or what anybody says, every fucking one of them started because we exist! There's no way any of them would have had the balls to stand up to the resistance we fought to do this. I kicked the door wide open and invited them in. I wish them good luck but they'd better fuckin' thank me!

For more info visit www.robinblackrocks.com The album ‘Planet Fame’ is out now on TB Records

Both of them write really good songs. They're both cheesy as fuck and I don't know if I'll care about them in five years or if I care about them now, but both of them have written some songs that when I hear them I want to dance. But I'll take Def Leppard because 'Pour Some Sugar On Me' is such a great song.

The Strokes or The Hives?

I don't give a fuck about either of them!

Nirvana or Pearl Jam? Nirvana's Nevermind is truly a great record and it makes me think back to when I was just a kid wanting to play crazy rock and roll, the way that my heroes did. I heard 'Teen Spirit' and loved it, I knew it was the voice of something new and was something special but I also knew that song was going to make it very difficult for me to do things the way I wanted to do them for a long time, and it made it much harder for me to chase my dream through the nineties.

Limp Bizkit or Linkin Park?

I think Limp Bizkit are probably the worst band of all time! A bunch of jackass jocks inspiring other assholes to date rape girls in their universities. Where as Linkin Park, whilst they could be one the twenty worst bands of all time, at least they have some really pretty melodies and that skinny little vegetarian blonde guy can kind of sing! So I'll choose Linkin Park but only if you put a gun to my head!

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AntiProduct

Apes, Pigs & Spacemen

It's mid week and most of their core audience are probably at home studying for exams but it doesn't really matter to AntiProduct. "You don't mind if we play like there's twenty thousand people in here instead of twenty, do you?" asks master of ceremonies Alex Kane. He means it too, regardless of how many people are in the venue tonight Kane and his band of power punk misfits launch into opener 'Thank God I'm Right' like it was their last night on earth! We're treated to a set consisting of mainly tracks from the new album 'Made in the USA' barely a few weeks old but each song sounding like a hit single. Some tracks come into their own live, particularly 'If I was Orson Welles' and 'Turnin' Me On', whilst others are simply as brilliant as expected such as 'Better Than This'.

AntiProduct have always been much heavier live than on record due to the power house rhythm section of the Gonk and new bassist Marina, combined with an immense guitar sound. Add to this the sugar coated harmonies provided by guitarist Clare pproduct and keyboardist Milena Yum which balance things out beautifully, it gives AntiProduct their own niche which is very much unrivalled. But it is Kane (part David Lee Roth, part Paul Stanley for a new generation) and his undying enthusiasm and ability to bring every single person to be part of the show in someway that makes this gig special. On what level you enjoyed tonights show simply depended on how much you liked the songs played and if your favourites were aired. So, whilst 'Arms Around the World' tends to drag a little, it is backed up with the speed punk of 'Supergirl' to close a set that is faultless for an opening night of yet another UK tour. The world better watch out as some of the best live shows in recent years are likely to be on the cards.

It's a warm sunny evening and APES fans are gathering from all over the country at The Emporium in a small town called Ripley. Such a small town for such a big event! There is an air of excitement tinged with a little apprehension. Will APES still have the edge, will Millie and Tom, the new members be any good? As APES take the stage to rapturous applause (we really still can't believe they're back), we soon learn the answer to both questions is YES. Definitely! They open with the compelling ‘After All’ and it is quickly apparent that they are still producing brilliant vibrant music. Millie, who is a thrilling guitarist, seems permanently airborne and Tom, the excellent drummer, has a grin on his face from ear to ear which lasts all night. I don't think anyone had prepared him for the APES crowd! Paul's voice is richer than ever and Bart, well, he's just being the Bart we all know and love, leaping about with his usual wild enthusiasm and playing better than ever. ‘After All’ is quickly followed by ‘Great Place’. What else could they play, when it is a great place to be tonight. The songs come fast and furious now, both old and new, from the poignant ‘Monster’ to the assertive ‘Screws’. We are treated to an extended version of ‘Morning After’ when Bart's guitar strap breaks, along with a witty commentary from Paul as he replaces it. There are a few bemused people in the crowd, who have only known Paul as an acoustic performer but they are soon just as eager for more as the rest of us. The new songs from Free Pawn, such as the catchy ‘Bored of Everything’, are more mature and stronger than the old.

That's not to say the old songs have lost any of their power.

This is evident when APES perform the almost violent ‘P.V.S’ which is surely everyone's live favourite and will be for a long time to come. Sadly the set is over, but Paul promises an encore if we make enough noise, which, of course, we do.

They return to sing ‘Dumb’ from Free Pawn for a storming finish and, yes, Tom is still grinning. Now it's really done and dusted but everyone is still excited, still a little bemused by the sheer force of APES music. Oh, I forgot to mention Paul's blue hair and Bart's red spiked hair, but tonight is all about the music, not the look. To MFN, I would like to say, I hope you regret forever your failure to nurture APES and you will come to realise what a great talent you threw away through your own stupidity. To Jon at the Emporium, Dave Culleton and everyone else who made this gig possible, a big, big thank you and, Jon, I'm sure Paul will promise not to make your towels blue ever again! Most of all, though, we, the fans, would like to thank APES for having the guts and determination to resurrect themselves and for giving us such a great night. We hope it will be the first of many more to come.

Jo Porter

The Corporation, Sheffield

The Emporium, Ripley, Derbyshire

Danger

Danger

Comin’Home One thing the UK is known for is it’s affection and loyalty to American bands.

Back in 1991, Danger Danger visited the UK and struck a chord with the rock scene that has stayed true for over a decade. Although never hitting the mainstream due to changing musical climates the band have continued to release quality albums and have built up one of the best back catalogues of hard rock music to rival any act. When it was announced the band would be returning to UK soil after over ten years it felt to me, and I’m sure many hard rock fans, that the band were coming home to a place that has held them very much in their hearts for a long time. This would be the first time England had the chance to see the band perform with vocalist Paul Laine, who after joining drummer Steve West and bassist Bruno Ravel in the mid nineties, pushed Danger Danger to another level in performance and songwriting. Prior to the bands debut show at JB’s in Dudley, TrashPit got the opportunity to speak to Paul and Bruno about their return to England and the ongoing Danger Danger story.

It's been over 10 years since you've been to the UK, how does it feel to be back and is there anything you're looking forward to?

B: It's been 10 years since we came to England back in 91/92 with KISS. We did a European tour with Paul, playing Germany, Sweden, France but for some reason we never made it to England. It was with UFO, the 'Sausage Tour' we called it because there was lots of old guys in the crowd and no chicks. It's been cool to see Paul again though because we haven't seen each other for three years. He lives on Vancouver Island and we're from New York so we couldn't be further apart. It's amazing what a plane ticket can do!

P: It's kind of like a class reunion!

You've built up a quite sizeable back catalogue of material. Is there any albums you look back on with a real fondness or do they all hold different memories?

B: Each of them have their own special place. There are some I prefer like Cockroach, Gildersleeves and Dawn which are my favourites. There are things I like on Screw It but the first album I don't care for too much. Things sound too mechanical with the production and stuff.

P: I was unhappy with Cockroach because I didn't have enough time to sing it. I think I did it in two or three days with a case of bronchitis but I did the best I could.

How is the writing process today with the band being based in different areas?

B: At first it was one for all and that kind of stuff. We flew to Paul's house and started writing which worked, but because Paul and Steve do a lot of the same things that Paul and myself do there was a little tension. So whilst the songs we wrote were great for this kind of thing we just said look, Steve and I will write two thirds, Paul writes one third and everyone's happy. At this point to have huge artistical arguments over what we're doing with Danger Danger isn't worth it. It's much easier to just say 'Hey Paul we need a couple of great songs' and he just goes 'How about these?' and we just record them!

P: I think it just keeps everyone creative and lets them do what they want to do, and it obviously makes for a better friendship that way. There's never any fights.

The last new album 'Gildersleeves' was in my opinion perhaps the most accomplished of all your CD's (both in production, songwritng and performance) how was that to record?

B: As far as the Paul Laine era, my favourite album is 'Dawn', mainly because it's more of a serious record but as far as the AOR thing 'Gildersleeves' is definitely the

You've managed to stay true to your sound but still have it stay relevant. Are there any other bands from the late eighties/early nineties who you feel are still relevant in today's musical climate?

B: Bon Jovi - I think Jon was teetering with the technology end of it trying to be a little too hip but he's a smart guy and he knows what his core audience wants so he's sticking to the hard core rock and roll with a little production. And hey, if we'd sold as many records as he did we'd probably be doing the same thing and playing stadiums, but what ya gonna do? As far as other bands, I like Warrant, Jani Lane is a real good writer.

P: Because we're songwriters we have a tendency to be checking out what's new. I think we move forward as songwriters but you have to keep those elements that your audience wants to hear. Nobody wants to pay like twelve pounds to see a show or buy a record and they do something totally different, that's like a slap in the face.

What other projects do you all work on other than D2?

P: I have a new band called 'Shugaazer' who have a new album coming out. Very British sounding, kind of Travis, meets U2 with a bit of Everclear thrown in too. It's coming out through Atenzia.

B: I work a lot as an Engineer, Steve and I work and write with other bands and do stuff for television. Whoever calls me I'm ready to go!

How have you put together the set list for the new tour with such a huge back catalogue?

B: You have to think ‘Okay, we're playing in England, what was the most popular record?’ So we're kind of loaded up on the 'Screw It' songs, and then there's the favourites from the first album. Then when I thought of songs after that, whilst maybe the band would like to play songs off of the 'Dawn' album I don't think people would miss it if we didn't play any. I kind of looked at which we could pull off so we're doing about six or so new ones.

Which bands would you most like to tour with?

B: As far as this kind of music there's only one - Bon Jovi. The biggest audience that plays this kind of music, that would be it!

P: They asked us to play with them on their UK tour but we said we'd rather come to Dudley!

RARE CUTS is out now on Low Dice. For more info visit www.dangerdanger.com

www.dip.steamhead.com

best. On 'Four the Hard Way' I'd just brought some new gear and didn't know what the hell I was doing so a lot of the mixes were a little dodgy. So after doing it for a while on Gildersleeves we finally had it down so it sounds more cohesive.

P: The process for me has always been painless. They just send me the tapes, I sing on them and send them back!

B: I ring him up and say 'What you doing Paul?' and he goes 'Singing in my underwear, how’s it sound?, 'Sounds great man, send it over!'

4oft Ringo

Over the past few years a whole crop of bands have arrived adopting the energy and flamboyance of great rock bands from the eighties and nineties combined with awesome hooks and melodies that bridge the gap between pop and rock. Bands such as Marvellous 3, SR71 and Nine Days have proved that it’s possible to have a great chorus as well as big guitars, and now New Jersey’s 40ft Ringo are currently leading the Nu Breed pack with their brilliant debut album Funny Thing. Frontman/Guitarist Steve Brown, formerly with the highly underated rock combo Trixter spoke recently to TrashPit about his return to the spotlight.

Briefly, could you fill us in on what happened from the release of the Trixter Undercovers EP and the formation of 40ft Ringo?

We did our last tour in '95. All along I was writing music that had a different sound & feel from the Pop Metal that I was writing. PJ (Farley - Trixter, 40ft bassist) & I decided it was time to move on and reinvent ourselves. From there we started Throwan Rocks along with Maz and from that we formed Soaked which went on to become 40ft Ringo in 2000.

What are some of your fondest memories from the Trixter days?

All of them........everyday was like New Years Eve and Christmas everyday. Some of the best times ever!

Has taking the role of frontman been an easy transition or was it daunting at first having the main focus?

Yes because I'm a friggin' ham......I love being the TOASTMASTER GENERAL. Was it always an intention to put 'Funny Thing' out yourselves and have more control over the finished product?

Yes + No...we came close to a few Major label deals that fell through. So we realized it was up to us to make it all happen.

You play in a cover band side project 'Sugarbelly', what kind of songs make up their set?

We play top 40 rock, from Good Charlotte to Staind, from Van Halen to Bon Jovi.....lot's of fun !

www.4Oftringo.com

40ft Ringo obviously have quite a varied sound but which song from 'Funny Thing' do you feel best sums up the band and why?

‘Inside your head’ because it has all the key ingredients to the 40ft. sound.... a killer riff, great melodies & harmonies, and a cool lyric.

What does the 40ft Ringo core fanbase consist of - is it a mixture of old and new fans?

Yes....we have a great fanbase.....the Trixter fans love it as well as the young kids.

Which bands do you most admire and which acts do you feel have stood the test of time from the late 80s/early 90s?

CHEAP TRICK, BON JOVI, DEF LEPPARD, all these bands have stood the test of time for over 20 years of rock service.

Which band would you most like to see 40ft Ringo tour with?

KISS & AEROSMITH.........WISHFUL THINKING.....he,he,he!

What touring plans do the band have both in the US and overseas?

Right now we are waiting to build the name more before coming over to Europe. Working on some videos to get on MTV and all the channels. So really we have to wait and see what the response is. Touring is expensive for a record company, so we have to see if it's worth it.

www.sugarbelly.net

Funny Thing - Atenzia Records Step forward the new kings of Nu Breed Power Pop! Armed with melodies to die for and just the right amount of attitude, 'Funny Thing' combines everything that made Trixter great - simple melodies, big guitars and brings them bang up to date to sit comfortably with the new crowd of power pop bands. 40ft Ringo really shine on their slightly darker and heavier tracks such as 'Big Fat Smile' with its dirty guitars and great chorus which remind me of Dad's Porno Mag. Combine this with the arena sized 'Origami Mommy' and the heads down stomp of 'Book of Virtues' and you have a definite contender for album of the year. 4/5

. a T S H R I T P Next Issue.......

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magazine

BOWLING FOR SOUP

issue 2 Out Winter 2OO3

Nightbreed Recordings in association with Pure Power Darkside presents:-

Dark Salvation

(Alternative All Dayer)

Nottingham Rock City Sunday 5th October Killing Miranda Fear & Loathing in the East Midlands - Controversial return!

Midnight Configuration The Lords of Darkness...pure evil soundscapes

Projekt Nu-gothic Groove Messiahs!

Punish Yourself First time in UK for insane French industrial terrorists!

Ghosts of Lemora London Goth scene’s hottest new band

Jesusfix Power gothic rock trio

Voices of Masada ex Burning Gates + ex Revolution By Night Also Nightbreed and Guest DJs...

Event to be held in Disco 2, 1st band on @ 5pm.

Details : Advance tickets ÂŁ7 - Available from Rock City Box Office Talbot Street, Nottingham. Tel 0115 9412544 for more info. email kaptinkev@projekt.fsbusiness.co.uk for even more info!

Book your tickets early as tickets are limited to 300 only!!