Last
night the British bulldog that is Jeremy Paxman took another
Conservative scalp, and did so with relative ease.
Scourge
of politicians, regardless of their leanings he may be, but when he
came up against the youngest minister that Cameron has – Chloe
Smith - he must have thought for a second that if he turned the heat
up a bit he might be accused of child abuse.
Here she
was all doe eyed and girly, trying to strike a balance between
femininity and authority, while Paxman, and his audience were looking
for something a little more akin to honesty.
Within
seconds the two worlds collided.
Any
consideration for her inexperience, age and gender vanished as she
displayed ignorance and arrogance in equal measure
Her
inability - paired with an apparent unwillingness - to answer the
most basic question worked like a red rag, and whether he wanted to
or not Paxman reverted to type.
His
bullish tenacity came to the fore, and without raising the
questioning to the heights of illustrious debate the simple
repetitive nature of his interview style seen Chloe Smith take on the
persona of a smiling, but empty headed, rabbit in the headlights.
One who
could only utter responses in the style of a POW providing name, rank
and number.
It's
entirely possible that her preparation for the interview took ten
minutes.
Nine to
apply lip gloss and one to nod vacuously at George Osborne as he told
her that there was nothing to worry about just as long as she sat
there and looked pretty.
Now
please don't accuse me of sexism as I couldn't care less what Chloe
Smith looks like.
Or what
age she is for that matter.
I suspect
that a pr spin team engineered this debacle, and it's they who
decided that rolling out what they considered was a pretty face on a young woman would be to
their advantage, and it was Chloe herself who went along with it.
They, and
she, can reap what they have sown.
Let's be
brutally honest here and ask why she was even on the show.
When word
came in that 'the pax' wanted to discuss Osborne's u-turn on fuel
duty is it possible that Chloe Smith was considered as the
sacrificial lamb, and then happily went to the slaughter in the
misguided belief that she was taking one for the team.
If that
is the case then she is dimmer than I thought as this is not a
government that respects loyalty
Let's
take a step back for a second though..
What did
we really see here?
A young
politician out of her depth?
Or was it
more?
I would
say more.
What we
seen, in my opinion, was a minister who was floundering because she
has no idea of what is going on.
A
minister who is completely out of the loop and was cast to the lions.
Albeit voluntarily.
She isn't the first minister to stumble into the spotlight and shakily expand on a void of information, and I doubt she will be the last.
It seems
obvious that she possessed just as many facts as Paxman's research
team had managed to dredge up from a press release and a few
headlines, and no more than that.
It's also
entirely possible that the reason that she doesn't have the
information to hand is because it changes on the hour.
Now
that's worrying.
Is she
the underling to headless chickens who have a
great deal of self belief, loads of personal cash, a sense of
entitlement and a fundamentalist attitude to slash and burn policies
that are designed to maintain the positions of those at the top, and nothing else?
Now
that's a scary thought, and one that I don't think is far from the
truth.
I sway
between holding the position that the Conservatives know exactly what
they are doing, and then the illogical nature of it pushes me towards
thinking that polices are hammered out after a Bullingdon Club lunch
when they are all pissed and think that mooning diners in a cafe and
cutting funding to a hospital are both jolly wheezes.
I keep
thinking that someone has to jump in from the wings and say to the
nation that we are all on candid camera.
What we
seen in Newsnight lends itself to us considering that this could all
be a joke, and Chloe Smith is simply an actress who failed to read
her script.
Who
really knows?
The
bottom line is that we as a nation are doing very little to question
what is going on, and we should.
Watch the
footage yourself.
Keep in
mind that Chloe Smith is a minister in a government that is supposed
to be representing our interests, and then ask yourself if you have
any faith in her.
In fact
ask yourself if you would let her house sit for twenty minutes while
you pop out to the supermarket.
If this
unfunny comedy sketch of an interview isn't enough to concern you
then check out the double act of tweedle dumb and tweedle dumber that
is May and Gove, and then come back to me and tell me that your
unconcerned and everything will work out fine.
If you
can do then then I honestly think that there's no hope for us all.
It's
2005, creeping into 2006, and at a casual glance it would appear that
women have managed to kick down the last of the barriers in the music
world.
In
fact gender seems to be an irrelevant issue, or is it?
There
are plenty of ladies up front in the mainstream charts, but backing
bands, record producers, record execs etc are all still predominately
male.
If you
look closer, peel the lid back, then it's obvious that the men still
far outnumber the women by a very wide margin.
As you
obviously have first hand experience of the often entrenched attitude
that rock and roll is for the boys can you tell us how you think
things have changed since the late seventies to today, and what do
you expect the future will hold?
Patricia
Morrison – I think it's become different, but not necessarily
easier.
There
used to be a wider choices available to women, but now it's ninety
percent 'pop' singers with histrionic voices and wearing very little
clothes. This is what the industry (run by men) wants, and this is
what women give them to succeed.
There are
a few oddballs out there, thank God, but for the most part the big
picture is that the music business is the same as it always was.
I have
done festivals and been one of only a few women performing. The
Warped Tour had only two women on the main stage, Bridget, the
violinist of Flogging Molly, and myself.
I don't
call that very equal.
Even more
condescendingly there was a stage for 'girl bands'.
It would
seem segregation is still alive.
Ironically
some of them were excellent, but they were sidelined which is a pity.
Not sure
whose fault that is, but it's what I have always seen.
In the
early punk days it was different, and it WAS equal, but that
disappeared.
I don't
personally consider that bands like The Spice Girls have done
anything to help women advance in the music industry, and instead it
is acts like The White Stripes who fly the flag for women as the
equality is right there to see.
Meg has
more power than fifty riot girls, or whatever they are now calling
themselves.
Strong
women have always pushed the boundaries, but paid heavily for it.
Billie Holiday and Janis Joplin are two that spring to mind. Courtney
Love seems obviously a casualty waiting to happen, and although I'm
loathe to mention her alongside Holiday and Joplin, it does
illustrate that chipping away at the male dominance that's prevalent
is hazardous for your health. Do you agree?
PM – Billie Holiday had a hell of a difficult life, and it made her
music wonderful and real. Janis Joplin sounded like no one else.
They say Joss Stone is the new Janis...what a crock.
I wouldn't even think to mention Courtney Love in the same breath as
them.
Doing drugs and being obnoxious is one way of getting attention, but
it doesn't necessarily make you anything more than a celebrity.
The way she is now is the way she was back in LA, and as a matter of
fact she has gone amazingly far and been a huge success despite being
a fuck up.
The last time I seen her, in the early eighties, she was lying in the
gutter with no underwear on.
She always wanted to be somebody and now she is. Mission accomplished
So no. Lets not put her in the same bracket as Billie and Janis.
Is it hazardous to the health of a woman to push for a career in
music on an equal basis as men though?
Maybe it's down to the persons own personality and not gender.
It's possible that there are equally the same amount of casualties.
I don't see women as the weaker sex. For every Janis there's how many
male equivalents?
You
have had an illustrious career.
Starting
off in The Bags as far back as '76 before moving on to 'Legal
Weapon', and then the hugely critically acclaimed 'Gun Club'. Then
'Fur Bible' prior to spearheading a movement as a member of The
Sisters of Mercy, and currently you playing bass for The Damned.
Do you
ever consider that your involvement with these bands (Gun
Club/Sisters of Mercy) has been glossed over with the front
men/singers, Pierce and Eldritch being the focal points, as it does
seem that as a female bassist you have been reduced to a footnote in
the bands histories.
It
would appear that a degree of respect from the music press has been
less than forthcoming.
Would
you consider that this was because both men had larger than life
persons, or is it simply inherent sexism at work?
PM – Looking back I think I did pretty well in holding my own with
those two particular egos.
The Gun Club I was always proud of. Jeffrey was a special talent and
he has also been glossed over which is a real shame.
I guess I have so many boxes of newspaper cuttings that to me I made
a mark that I'm happy with.
The Sisters was different.
We had success due to the image and I was one half of that, and
that's just a fact whether anyone likes it or not.
Floodland was a good record, but I think the image sold it as much as
the songs.
I had a horrible time when I first joined the bands, and the press
initially treated me like shit, but by the time I left I was well
respected and many publications wanted to interview me by myself.
Which was frowned upon I might add.
When I went to Germany once and met the record company there I was
surprised to find out that I had been sent lots of fan mail that I
was never told about, including a three foot tall gothic teddy bear.
That bothered me because all those people sending unanswered mail
would have formed a false impression of me. Maybe aloof, arrogant,
and that's not the case.
I was just unaware of the mails existence.
This was near the end and I had started to realize just how much I
was being screwed over.
The Damned is the opposite of that.
I'm playing songs that I grew up with and love, and I think I've held
my own in a band that is very, very male.
They weren't afraid to have a female bass player though.
I was shaking at the first few gigs as the audience can be a bit
rough, but they were great and I was accepted virtually straight away
and since then I've had lost of good tours.
The Damned audience is the best I have ever played in front of.
From
previous interviews it's apparent that your enforced departure from
The Sisters of Mercy was conducted in a very unprofessional manner.
Did
you feel that the public perception of you as an individual was
skewed?
PM – No, I've found that anyone who has ever had any dealings with
Andrew can understand what I went through.
I don't think there's that many people who really care about those
days now.
No one mentions him to me any more. I do sign Floodland albums which
I am always happy to do, and Captain draws a Hitler moustache on
Andrew which seems fitting.
It's
generally felt that if someone is in a successful band then they must
be financially affluent, and probably living a fantasy style rock and
roll lifestyle, limos and coke on tap so to speak.
Yet
the reality appears to be that you were initially unemployed and had
an uncertain future ahead of you.
Was it
difficult for people to empathize with you due to their
misconceptions?
PM – Now that's a good question.
Yes. People thought I was loaded so wanted huge sums to work with me.
This resulted in me trying to do everything myself which turned out
to be impossible.
If I'd had the back up that most 'girl singers' have it would have
been great, but I didn't.
I was lucky in a sense though as I never had a drug problem to deal
with, I did drink too much, but stopped when I felt I needed to stop.
I never had the insecurities that I find rampant in the music
industry, I'm not arrogant either and just never felt desperate to
prove myself.
If I had any of those problems on top of the perceptions people had
as I tried to start again it may not have turned out like it has.
Instead I moved on, just did my job and tried to do it really well.
Maybe if I had been more cut-throat I would have been more
successful, but that isn't me.
What people think is rarely a true reflection at all.
What some people may think were the good times weren't, and the times
they may think are the bad times are often the best.
I've travelled the world for decades, seen places and done things
that I will always treasure.
That's what I would rather focus on. I've been a lucky bass player.
On a
lighter note do you still feel people hold onto misconceptions. I
would imagine that a surprisingly high number of people think that
Dave and you probably live in a Gothic castle. Possibly have cats
called Morticia and Wednesday and employ a manservant called Fester?
PM – Fester left after David tried to test him in the lab, and the
cats are Pubert and Cat, and the castle is cunningly disguised as a
small house, but we have each other, our little girl Emily, and our
health so when you get to my age that is pretty darn wonderful.
That's the real story, but people will think what they want wont
they?
I feel I've been really lucky to get to where I am now. I've been
able to support myself by working as a musician for uh...yikes,
nearly thirty years.
That in itself can feel unreal.
Finally,
as a last question. Do you have any plans for another solo album, or
maybe a project outside of the Damned?
PM – No. My life right now is pretty much taking care of Emily. I
have very little time for anything else right now.
I was asked to sing on someone's new CD, but I am just unable to do
it right now, although it was lovely to be asked.
I would hope that as Emily gets older that I will do more music, but
she is my priority just now.
I've been thinking of asking David to get my bass down from the loft
though....so you never know.
(This has been pieced together from an old email and a part of the original fanzine that it was printed in. Minor missing text has been rewritten from memory)
A few
months ago in a conversation I was asked my opinion from the point of
view of being a music journalist.
I quickly
jumped to state that I am not, never have been, and doubtfully every
will be a music journalist.
It's
doubtful as I never submit anything anywhere.
I just
write.........well stuff, and because I genuinely love music that's
what most of it is about.
A far cry
from being a music journalist really.
That
perception of what I do is the polar opposite of how I see myself.
I just
spill stuff out onto the internet via my blog.
I make
spelling mistakes, my grammar is questionable, and very often in
hindsight I'm not that impressed with what I've written.
On the up
side I do think that what I write has a degree of passion to it that
is missing in the mainstream, and people do discover new bands and
artists through reading my blog and that pleases me.
So I'm
not pushing a glass half empty point here.
Just
trying to state the case that what others, and quite probably myself,
think isn't in all probability the reality.
How much
really is in life?
It's also
the same deal about promoting gigs.
Regardless
of the perception, I'm not a promoter.
Or I
should say that I don't see myself as one.
Instead
I'm a music fan that has put on a few gigs.
I would
argue strongly about that being the case.
I like
dipping my toe in and sorting out a gig, and I would claim that the
quality of the artists who have previously played on bills I've
arranged have been of a very high standard.
Of course I accept that this is of course a subjective view.
It is a
fact that I don't do it for money though, and everyone who knows me
personally will laugh at that, and say that I'm the master of stating
the obvious for uttering it.
The
reason that I do it because I want to participate in the magic in
some way, and for me the best thing about putting on a gig, apart
from seeing a great performance, is when a stranger approaches me and
excitedly says they have had a great time.
That
makes it all worthwhile.
That's
where the buzz is.
Yet the
perception of some is that not only am I a promoter, but I am looking
to lay the foundations and make a business of it.
That's
simply not how I see it at all.
Even the
perception of what this blog is all about, and its purpose, is
varied.
Recently
from some conversations I have had I get the impression that some
consider that the blog is my attempt to create a springboard to jump
from to something bigger and better.
I'm not
sure what that is though.
I could
start a website instead of a blog in the next ten minutes if I wanted
to, but I'll not, or maybe I will.
Who
knows? I certainly don't.
Similarly
I could start accepting advertising, and maybe make a bit of money
due to the amount of traffic I get, but that's not something that
interests me, and there's also a part of me that loathes losing
control over what gets promoted.
In all
honesty I don't have a clue what the future holds for the blog, or
anything I do related to it.
There's a
part of me that is happy with it as it is and can't see the point in
changing anything.
My
reluctance to change it, or use it to open doors, could be
highlighted in how crap I have been in promoting it.
I got
five hundred business cards printed and I've given out about eight.
Probably
five to friends.
What does
that say about me.
A lack of
confidence?
Am I a
laissez faire slacker?
Could I
be someone who is reluctant to be ousted from a comfort zone?
Whatever
it is it does show that the perception that I'm using it as a conduit
to this mythical bigger and better future isn't entirely accurate.
Lastly,
and on a more personal level, the good guy/bad guy perceptions that
people hold about me.
In all
fairness I'm not as good, or as bad, as anyone thinks, and who is?
That's
the bugger of perceptions isn't it.
Depending
on who you speak to I'm a Devil or a Saint.
I'm
neither obviously.
So what
really is the purpose of rambling on about this?
Well it's
probably that I just want to publicly put something down on record so
that I can avoid explaining certain things in future.
Just to
tidy some things up here's some more answers to oppose some of the
more negative perceptions that have been expressed, and are maybe
still held.
I don't
now, ever had, or ever will want to corner the market in blogs that
cover artists locally.
I never
have, currently don't want to, and never will want to run a radio
station.
I am not
actually interested in putting myself forth as a representative for
local artists, although I fully support them.
I also
have no interest in controlling the local live music scene.
I
sincerely hope that people can take this on board in the present, but
I can assure everyone that the future will reveal it all to be true.
Vive le itsaXXXXthing. It is what it is and that's whatever you want it to be.
Songs for
Snakes, with their Charcoal Heather album should, if there's any
justice, blow some cobwebs away on the, for lack of a better term,
alt-punk scene.
For those
who are still mourning the loss of band like Jawbreaker and Husker Du
here's one that will make you smile again.
On this,
their second album, it's actually difficult to point out anywhere
that you could consider that they've put a foot wrong.
While
they do wear their influences on their sleeves for all to see they're
far removed from being a band who are simply rehashing the past
glories of their idols, and in doing so offering a 'mark 2' service
for a younger audience.
Instead
this is a hungry sounding band who are looking to take what some
would consider a familiar sound, and make it their own, and track
after track there's plenty of evidence to support that this isn't
something that is beyond their grasp.
If I was
pushed to describe it in one sentence then I'd say that it's a hook
laden assault on the ears that's accompanied by some raw punk vocals
that manage to maintain a solid balance between the melody and
aggression.
Unfortunately
that wouldn't actually convey just how good it is.
After
listening to Charcoal Heather from start to finish, and then comparing
it to their self titled debut it seems glaringly obvious that they
have pushed the envelope a great deal, and went from being a band who
promised good things to one who are now in the position of delivering
on them.
This is
an album that given the opportunity will make a great deal of
previously jaded music fans sit up and take notice.
On a side
note I'll also add that when bands get in touch out of the blue
looking for a review, and then provide material as strong as this it
makes doing the whole blog feel rather worthwhile.
It's been
a long journey with members appearing, disappearing and then
reappearing with alarming regularity over the years.
It's
rumoured that as part of their rider – above the bit about denim
clad midgets, but below the part about everyone having to speak like
Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean for one hour of every day -
they insist that the dressing room doors are removed and replaced
with revolving ones just to keep everyone on their toes.
No one is
indispensable in the world of the Turbonegro.
There's
been madness, drug issues, some cross dressing, huge dollops of crazy
rock and roll and cult like adulation along the way, and do you know
what?
They
still rock like a motherfucker.
A big
neon lit nightmare of seventies glam stomp and punk rock
motherfuckery.
They're
the Rolling Stones, The Ramones, The Dead Boys and the New York Dolls
celebrating the apocalypse, and Sexual Harassment is the definitive
proof if anyone ever needed it.
The
guitars howl, the bass and drums are thunderous and right to the fore
is every single politically incorrect thought that has every crossed
your mind.
Turbonegro
are the glint of switch-blade steel in the dark alley, the leer on
the face of the carnival barker, and the money shot at the end of
your favourite moment of adult celluloid entertainment all rolled
into one.
Remember
the promotional comment of 'you pay for the whole seat, but you will
only use the edge of it?'
That
should have been about Turbonegro.
In the
words of Happy-Tom "Most
rock 'n' roll bands start as a riot but end up as a parody. We
started up as a parody but ended up as a revolution."
There's been a great deal of talk about the reach, or lack of reach, that Facebook currently has. On one side there are those who are stating that nothing has changed, and in the main, and as far as I can tell, they are people talking about personal pages, and in that case it is difficult to argue with them. If an individual uses it to chat to friends on a regular basis then everyone that they expect to see their page will do. However, and regardless of all the arguments against this, it would appear that those who have band, label, blog pages are seeing their reach to the outside world being limited. In all the confusion there are plenty of solid arguments being put forth to substantiate any view held, but if you strip them all away it does seem that interaction between bands and fans, blogs and their readers, DIY stores and their customers, has recently had a bit of a downturn. Coincidentally this has all happened around the time that Facebook was floated on the market. Another coincidence is that the emails and messages sent that outline their ad rates, and how availing yourself of them will enable your page to reach a much wider audience, started to arrived around the same time. It's a bit of a pain in the rear. While I use Facebook to promote the blog I also see it as something that provides the reader the opportunity to engage with what they want. Instead of coming here and trawling through it piece by piece a person seeing the links on their Facebook wall can just pick and choose what they want to read. If a political rant isn't your thing then it's easily skipped when coming to the blog from Facebook. That option seems to have been impacted on, and I don't know why. I'm no expert in tech matters, and all I can truthfully say is that I'm not falling for a change in perception, but instead commenting on the reality of the current reach. Right now the page dedicated to the blog has 112 likes to it (less than the hits I get in the first 30 minutes of posting a new blog update) and my plan to stop posting links on my personal page and just feature them on that page has faltered due to the lack of reach it has. Even close friends have told me that they know nothing about it until I directly asked them. They haven't seen a link to it, or posts from it on my own wall, even though they have been shared. So click here for the facebook blog page and sign up to it if you want, and in a weeks time I'll revisit this and see if there's been any change in the reach. and I'll fill you in.
It should
have been a match made in heaven, but while it sounded good on paper
the reality fell short of expectations.
The mash
up of the Clash and Pogues failed to make any sort of headway, and
the torch for drunken folk songs sung by punks was to be carried
forth by the likes of The Levellers as the eighties died.
Now here
we are in 2012 and that sort of anarchist folk will be but a distant
memory for many, but it needn't be as The Roughneck Riot are here to
inject some youthful vigour into the traditional mix.
There's a
frenetic pace to their album that doesn't let up for a second, and
while some would try and balance out the speed with some shading the
band are apparently happy to keep the needle in the red and push the
album forward as hard as they can.
As an
introduction goes it does the business. and I suspect that live they
will live up to the riot part of their name.
The music
has that vibe to it.
It's
evocative of a drunken wake that is impishly thumbing its nose at
the death of a nation while hanging onto the promise of another day.
I suspect
this is an album that will precede many a hangover, and when I look
about me at the youth of our green and pleasant land I can't help
thinking that maybe the Roughneck Riot are just the pill that the
doctor has ordered for them.
In the
last five days I've read three separate articles about how music is
for the young.
The first
one was claiming that pop music is obsolete for anyone over the age
of twenty seven, another that punk's for rebellious teenagers, –
quite specific that one with the punk window only being open for
those between thirteen and nineteen – and the last was stating that
in general anything original only appeals to those who are under
thirty.
These
articles come along every once in a while in a manner akin to buses.
You don't
see one for ages, and then three arrive at the same time, but what is
the purpose of them?
Apart
from the obvious, and that's that they're old arguments being dusted
down and used as filler for some column inches, do they actually have
any credence?
Is the
appreciation of music to be treated on some level like Logan's Run.
Should we
have a crystal implanted into our palms that counts down the time
that we have left to listen to new music, and then when it shines a
certain colour are we to be relegated to the rut of only every
listening to the evergreen hits of our own youth?
Should
fresh new music never darken our doorway again?
Frankly
it's a ludicrous assertion.
Why
should there be age barriers to the enjoyment of listening to music,
any music?
Can you
imagine if we were to transfer that argument across to other forms of
entertainment.
We would
have men in their thirties talking about the first three Die Hard
films, but carrying a sense of emptiness around with them as the
fourth came out just after the cut off point for action films.
The
upside of this is of course that they may have just managed to miss
the Star Wars prequels and the last Indiana Jones film, but I
digress.
How about
books?
How
frustrating would it have been if Rowling released the final Harry
Potter novel a month after the birthday that signalled the end of
reading fantasy books?
WHAT THE
HELL HAPPENED TO HARRY?
Who is
going to sit the twenty-something down and tell them that the future
only holds Patricia Cornwell and the occasional Nick Hornby novel for
them?
Lets turn
this around as well.
If we
reach a certain age and are to be excluded from listening to new
songs by younger artists then why should we let younger ears listen
to the stuff that we grew up on?
The
Beatles were still together when I was a kid so I can listen to them,
but the Clash split up before the birth of my son so he will have to
leave the room if I want to blast out some 'Know your rights'.
It's only
fair.
If they
want to keep the new stuff for themselves, then maybe we should wrap
the older artist in a tight embrace and exclude the young from
listening to them.
We can
see who will break first and want to share.
I'll have
The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Kinks, The Clash, The Sex
Pistols and more.
They will
have JLS, Justin Beiber and Coldplay.
Seems a
tad unfair doesn't it?
Okay I'm
weighting that in favour of us oldies, but you get the point.
Anyway
these articles promoting this ageist crap are really empty of logic.
Of course
certain styles of music are rebellious calls to arms, and ultimately
designed to piss off the older generation, but isn't there a kid
inside us all that still wants to stick two fingers up to the
generation that came before us, and why shouldn't we indulge that
inner kid with some punk, some dubstep, or even LMFAO with their hit
about vitamin D deficiencies leading to softening of the bones and
how that lends itself to a shufflin' gait.
No one is
even saying that when we all get to a certain age we must keep our
minds open to everything that is being churned out, but hell, I want
the right to keep listening, and I can't see anyone coming along with
a piss poor nonsensical argument that is going to stop me.
Apart
from that I reckon the young artists are quite happy to get the
revenue that we slip in their pockets every time we buy one of their
CDs, attend a gig, or the worst cardinal sin of all for the ageist
journalists who churn this bollocks out.......buy a groups t-shirt
and wear it in public.
The
latest album from Sweden's The Bones has punk rock hit written all
over it.
Like a
good single malt they are just getting better with every year that
passes.
While
some of their peers are looking to delve deeper into the street punk
scene - and delivering increasingly rawer material - it sounds like
The Bones are going in the opposite direction, and by grinding the
rough edges off are getting ready to take a step up into the major
leagues.
For every
fan they turn off through polishing their punky rock and roll up they
will gain two by being more accessible and delivering material that a
wider audience can appreciate.
The age
old 'sell out' claims could well be bandied about by older fans, but
they will be the voicing of empty arguments from empty heads as this
is a progression, and anyone who wants to halt the progress of a band
are about to get left behind.
It's up
to them really.
Jump on
board or wave goodbye from the platform.
I know
where I'm going to be and that's sitting comfortably in first class
with a beer in my hand and a smile on my face.
Consider
Social Distortion and Rancid taking a little, just a little, of the
gloss of Green Days world dominating American Idiot album and what
you will get is 'Monkeys with Guns'.
As
distasteful as this will sound to some this is a stadium punk band in
the making.
All they
need is to be in the right place at the right time and the world is
theirs.
It's all
in the laps of the gods now as everything else is in place.
Throwing
the listener straight into the deep end of the pool Gary Sunshine
challenges perceptions with an opening track that sounds like a
corroboration between Beck, Dylan, Cohen and The Suicide Twins.
'If you
see the Devil' is the soundtrack to the wrong side of the tracks.
It's
romanticism wrapped up in barfly eloquence, and by dragging an
unflinching gutter monologue into the light Gary has laid his cards
on the table for all to see.
For all
intents and purposes it doesn't sound like he is here to beg for your
patronage, but instead is spilling his musical guts out and leaving
us to take it or leave it.
There's a
refreshing 'I've been around the block a few times and this is it,
make of it what you will' attitude that pervades the song and gives
it a great deal of power.
For an
opening track it sets the bar high, but 'a gentleman with a gun
strapped to his ankle' confirms that it wasn't a solitary fluke, as
does every other subsequent song.
This is
an album that's the soundtrack to wakening up in an unfamiliar flop
house with bloodstains on the sheets, the shakes, a fresh tattoo and
a woman whose wearing your grandmothers wedding ring lying next to
you.
Depending
on your outlook that could be a good, or bad, thing.
Regardless
of whether it is your thing or not it does provide a voyeuristic
thrill.
By the
time it checks in at 'Mexico' we're on a road trip to hell and past
the point of no return.
The
Rubicon is the rear view mirror and we've committed ourselves to
seeing this out.
People
come and people go, there's good times and bad times, the sun rises
and sets on us and there's some countrified and bluesy fear and
loathing going on.
In fact a
great deal of this is akin to gonzo literature put to music.
Every
song is a short story, a little snapshot of a time and place with
fully formed characters living in it, and then you take a step back
and the whole album is a loose story of recollections of a wandering
troubadour who has clocked a great deal of miles on the road.
It's rare
to claim that an album is a 'must have', but Gary Sunshine has made
one here.
It's a
classic in every sense of the word. A slap in the face for anyone who
mistakenly claims that no one is doing anything of worth any more.
The Hives
are back and that message should be writ large on the side of
skyscrapers, trailed behind aeroplanes, and if there's enough
promotional cash left then beamed onto the side of the moon so that
everyone is aware that the buzz in the air has a source.
Lex Hives
sounds like a debut, an album that's full of the joyous excitement of
making a noise for the sake of it.
In fact
it has the feel of a recording that was rattled out over the course
of a weekend in a shiny studio that the janitor cut keys for and
passed onto the kids from the wrong side of the tracks for a couple
of bucks.
That this
wasn't the case, and instead it was recorded in a slew of studios
with different producers over a period of time is to its credit.
It's a
blast of fresh air that blows what is currently being hawked as edgy
by the mainstream into the gutter like the yesterdays news that it
is.
Starting
with some hand claps, the new wave sound of a vocoder and a scream it
grabs you, and the party has started.
Everyone
is invited so grab a bottle and let their hair down.
This
album aint letting up until the sun comes up and the milkman is
stepping over the casualties to place his delivery on the doorstep.
They
could have called this 'The Hives Save the World' or 'The Hives
motherfuckin latest awesome album' and I would have shrugged and went
along with it.
By the
time they roll into 'Without the money' they're revisiting some
Screaming Jay Hawkins and the track acts as the velvet glove that's
wrapped around the iron fist of 'These spectacles reveals the
nostalgics' that follows it.
There's
the caress and then the slap of the double whammy right there.
On 'I
want more' there giving Joan Jett a kick up the arse by adding some
attitude stolen from Grandmaster Flash while keeping the amps turned
up to ten.
Christ it
just gets better as it goes on.
Bring on
the live gigs. They're going to be killer.
With the
Olympic torch passing close by the streets are heavy with police
motorbikes and riot vans.
The
pavements are less busy with spectators.
It's
getting late, and for many people all they are thinking about is
getting home from work.
It's very
obvious that the auspicious honour of bearing the torch doesn't have
the same attraction when it slips down streets that aren't media hot
spots.
There's
no kids chasing the torch bearer, no pavements full of cheering
supporters gurning and waving at the cameras, and instead there's
just small pockets of what I presume are family and friends looking
on.
No one
seems to care that much about it at all.
Meanwhile
mere yards away Roscoe Vacant, with three of his four Gantin'
Scriechs, took to the stage in The Bay.
The
setting isn't strange, but I'm feeling a bit discombobulated as the
band are playing in front of windows where the days fading light is
their backdrop.
This
throws me a little as I'm used to seeing them perform in bars late at
nights and in subterranean clubs that have never seen natural light.
Yet in
some way it felt that the setting was adding a little frisson to
proceedings.
Maybe a
bit of Dylan Thomas as Roscoe and his band were unwittingly standing
up to 'Rage, rage against the dying of the light'.
A modern
day poet in his lyrical stance, Roscoe Vacant, is the sharp edge to
social commentary, a folk punk with a a fistful of passionate songs
to sing in a take no prisoners manner.
He's a
mix of Robert Burns, the two Woody's, Strummer and Guthrie, and the
product of a straight talking mining community that has shaped his
views on everything that you could care to mention.
If you
want a rant about the sectarian divide that blights the west coast of
Scotland then he's the man to give you it.
Similarly
if you want to address the failings of the unions over the last
twenty odd years then he will also happily ring a song out about that
to.
Some have
claimed him to be an acquired taste, but with a bit of effort the
rewards to listening to him are untold.
With his
last album it could comfortably sit between the Pixies and the Pogues
and you can't say that about many people.
Within
the confines of the Bay it was refreshing to see the crowd watch the
band with an open mind, and to go on and willingly show their
appreciation of what they are doing.
After the
set I was speaking to Roscoe who said that he felt happy with the
performance, and from an artist is hyper self critical that was
saying something.
I
sincerely hope that this is the beginning of a run of gigs where he
finds an audience who can tune into what he is doing.
The
majority of people there were however attending the show to see Jon
Snodgrass, and if I was to hazard a guess as to why then I'd lay
money on it being down to the split 10”/Download that he did with
Frank Turner.
The
amount of Turner t-shirts and the regularity that his name trips from
peoples lips make it a tad obvious.
Regardless
of their reasons for making the effort to show up for the gig they
were keen to be entertained as when both Jon and Cory wandered
through the crowd to take their places behind the microphones the
buzz was palpable.
I'd
previously heard both while trawling the internet, and kicking about
somewhere is a few Drag the River albums, but until now I had seen
neither live.
My
ignorance to what they do on stage actually extended to the point
that I was under the impression that they were going to play separate
sets, and maybe at some point of the night perform some songs
together from their split release from 2009.
Instead
they simply hung about on stage shoulder to shoulder and comfortably
eased into songs as the mood took them.
It's a
communal performance with each of them accompanying the other as
required.
Jon would
add some vocals and guitar to one of Cory's songs and likewise Cory
would do the same for Jon.
It's an
approach that could lend itself to being disjointed and problematic,
but in this case it flowed rather naturally, and I presume that ease
is rooted in the artistic relationship that the two men have.
For
myself I was more impressed when Cory Branan took the lead, but
that's not to say that Jon Snodgrass is a lesser talent, but more so
an expression of my own personal tastes.
Both are
of course exceptionally talented individuals.
It's just
that the gruff tones of Cory's voice ticks more of the boxes for me.
Musically
Jon is an extension of Drag the River minus the vocals of Chad Price.
There's
no great leap in a different direction, and instead he's still
meandering down the path without any distractions from forks in the
road that are there.
Fans of
the band would not be disappointed with the performance, and anyone
being introduced to what Jon does should have been suitably
impressed.
However
for me it was Cory who stole the show.
He's the
raconteur of the two and comes across like an amalgamation of every
blue collar troubadour you could care to name.
It's
entirely possible that I'm holding the minority view in my preference
for Cory over Jon because as said the crowd was in the main there to
see Jon play, but in all honestly there's a small voice whispering
away in my ear that this was only down to the 'Turner' influence, and
if Jon hadn't released that split with him then there would have been
far fewer people willing to dip their toe in and sample what was on
offer.
Regardless
of that I sincerely hope that they liked what they seen in its
totality, and will now use the experience as a catalyst for action
and begin to keep an ear out for artists of a similar ilk.
Full
kudos has to go to promoter 'Punk Rock Rammy' for making this gig a
reality.
Kelly
- I've seen you a few times over the years, from the Wickerman
festival to clubs in Glasgow, but I really do have to ask is the
Bakers niteclub stage you played as part of the Dirty Weekender
festival in Kilmarnock the smallest, and how did you all fit on it?
Scott
(Bombskare) - First of all, I just want to say that we had a great
night in Bakers last week, our first time there, but hopefully not
the last.
It
was a bit of a tight fit on the stage but it's not the smallest stage
we've played. We regularly play up in Hootannany in Inverness and
their stage is about the size of a snooker table, about half the size
of Bakers, no joke.
And
there have been smaller ones.
Ages
ago we used to play in the Black Bull in Edinburgh, with no stage at
all, we would just set up around the fruit machine next to the
toilets and go for it.
And
that was when we had Big Andy Laidlaw as our lead singer (currently
of Big Fat Panda fame).
He
takes up a fair bit of room (about twenty five stones worth).
As
I've mentioned the Wickerman festival I was a bit disappointed that
you aren't on the bill this year.
Maybe
not as much as my 12 year old daughter, but still disappointed.
Did
you not get the call, or are you playing elsewhere?
We
haven't been invited to Wickerman this year, which is a bit
disappointing, although we are actually playing a wedding that
weekend so it was unlikely we would have been able to do it anyway.
We
need the cash to pay to get our second album finished, and the
wedding pays, wickerman doesn't.
I
know that sounds crap but its unfortunately the truth.
Having
said that, last year they asked us only four weeks before the event,
so I guess they could still ask us.
Don't
hold your breath though.
How
does festival gigs compare to club shows?
Festival
gigs vs club shows?
I
guess the festivals are good because you have a bigger crowd and its
all very loud and exciting, but the club gigs are probably my
favourite, just because you are closer to the crowd and you can get
an amazing atmosphere when everyone's right there in your face.
I
like the gigs where the band is falling into the crowd and the crowd
is falling into the band, and it all just turns into a sweaty noisy
mosh pit.
Great
fun.
Plus,
when you play these bigger festival type shows you usually don't have
the opportunity for a sound check so sometimes it doesn't sound as
good on stage.
With
so many people in the band do you find it difficult to all commit to
gigs. How do you even all commit to a practice at the same time?
As
you can imagine organising nine people to do anything is difficult,
especially when everyone has jobs, families, girlfriends, other
bands, pets, x boxes etc, but we somehow manage to do it.
Over
the years we have acquired a kind of gang mentality so we're all kind
of pulling in the same direction so to speak.
We
also have three different drummers, our main drummer Sam, plus two
'stunt' drummers for when he's busy, and occasionally we have a
'stunt' guitarist and bassist.
Occasionally
we'll do gigs with one man down (last week for instance in Aberdeen,
we were minus our trombone player).
As
for practice, we religiously get together nearly every Monday night
at our rehearsal room in Granton, here in Edinburgh (not tonight
though, everyone is still fucked from the gigs at the weekend!!).
Monday
nights are usually the night when nothing else happens so that's when
we practice.
And
by practice I mean standing about smoking and drinking beer and
slagging each other off.
It's
been a little while since the last studio release. Have you plans for
recording again, and if so how is that going?
We
were actually just in the studio a few months back recording on the
Straight To Tape sessions, which was just released in March.
It
was hard work because it was all recorded live straight onto tape and
took us a while to get it right.
Its
download only though, but you can see the video on YouTube.
Our
last CD release was The Chop Shop EP, last summer which contains
different remix versions of songs which will be appearing on our
second full length album.
We're
currently mixing that at the moment, approximately 20 songs, which
won't all make it onto the album.
They'll
probably all get whittled down to 14 or 15 tracks.
The
album is going to be called "The Day the Earth Stood Stupid"
which is one of the songs on the EP.
It's
a slow and expensive process but I have to say the new album is
sounding amazing so far.
Not
sure exactly when it's seeing the light of day.
We
had hoped for a release later this year, but unfortunately it's all
moving a bit slower than we had hoped.
We'll
keep you posted
How
serious are you all about the band?
At
a certain young age I find that people consider it a real career
path, but then I meet people who have been around the block a few
times and have a more realistic expectation of it, and they consider
being being in a band as something that's fun and might put some cash
in their pocket, but little more than that.
Where
would you put yourself in that context.
I
would put us in the latter category. We make no money from the band,
everything is reinvested and pays for diesel, vehicle hire,
drumsticks, guitar strings, saxophone reeds, equipment repairs,
rehearsal space rent, recording studios time, etc.
Its
an expensive business, and although we can charge a fee for gigs,
there are so many people in the band that if everyone was in it just
for the money, it wouldn't be worth their while.
We
just don't command a big enough fee (yet?).
In
some ways this is positive as everyone is in it for the love of doing
it and we have never, in over ten years of gigging, ever had a fight
about money.
So
in some ways it's like a mini communist state, no one gets paid but
no one is out of pocket. If we ever get more successful and the money
involved increases then I'm sure that will change
However
the flip side of that is that several of us are in other bands that
ARE working bands i.e wedding bands or cover/tribute bands who do get
paid and that can sometimes affect Bombskare's availability.
People
have to eat, I suppose.
Okay
them just for a laugh, and to finish off tell us who in the band
would be most likely to go missing in action after a gig, who will
probably drop dead on stage, who would be the last man standing in a
drinking competition, and is it true that you are releasing a ska
fitness DVD in time for x-mas.
The
person most likely to go missing in action after a gig is my brother
Colin, our trumpet player.
He's
slightly volatile, for example last month he got into a fight and
punched a guy in the face with his trumpet, which he had in is pocket
at the time.
We
are currently writing a song about that incident.
I'm
likely to be the one who drops dead on stage; I'm not particularly
fit and one or two gigs we've had in the past (like our album launch
in 2009) were so hot that I almost passed out on stage so I'm pretty
sure it will happen at some point.
Last
man standing in a drinking competition that's probably Papa Joe our
bass player, purely because of his larger body mass. but Mike, our
trombone player I've rarely seen totally hammered and he does drink,
so he's probably a dark horse in that regard.
It's
always the quiet ones.
As
for the Ska fitness video, yes that's completely true.