We have a winner from this year’s Crossfire Egg Hunt in association with VANS. Jonny Moon from Binfield, Bracknell will receive a full package of VANS goodies pictured below so congratulations to Jonny for finding the golden egg!
Thanks to all who took part this year, we have more competitions lined up over the next week to win Element Spring wear and the new decks series from Superdead Skateboards. Look out for them soon.
This Sunday we will be at the Barfly for our evening of party goodness at the Gaymers Camden Crawl and will be expecting a night full of tunes and live bands from 6pm. The venue will be open all day of course if you are planning to get amongst the daytime entertainment but our evening line up is looking pretty tasty and can now be released so here’s what we have planned for you.
Live Schedule upstairs at the Barfly:
8.20pm – HOLY STATE – visit www.myspace.com/holystate – Traveling from Leeds and signed to Dance to the Radio, this angular, post punk 4-piece should please fans of Hot Snakes and Jesus Lizard. Don’t miss them as they give a great live show and will be a band you will hear much more about this year.
9.25pm – DELS – visit www.myspace.com/imdels Signed to Big Dada Records (offshoot of Ninja Tune) DELS is an MC who pushes what he can say with words as hard as he can and combines it with a really adventurous attitude towards music. His debut album ‘GOB’ is released on Monday so this should be quite a party!
10.30pm – CEREBRAL BALLZY – visit www.myspace.com/cerebralballzy Our headliners are set to take the roof off the Barfly in true hardcore style. The Brooklyn based punk 5-piece play fast, skate punk that Bad Brains and first album Suicidal Tendencies fans will be proud to hear so expect total mayhem!
DJ Schedule, downstairs at the Barfly
6pm-9pm: CROSSFIRE SOUND SYSTEM with Zac Slack and James Sherry. Expect a mixed bag of punk rock, psych-garage, stoner and classic alternative and indie tracks.
9pm-11.15pm: SWEET DREAMS DJs. Returning for more since last year’s Camden Crawl these 2 ladies who know their dirty hip hop and also love a party classic!
11.15pm-12.30pm: The CROSSFIRE SOUND SYSTEM will be charging on all fronts with mash up, rock and punk classics once Cerebral Ballzy take your ears off. Expect a sing-a-long.
12.30-2am: RITA MAIA. West London’s electronic slayer will be dropping Hip Hop, Drum n Bass and dubstep hammers until close at 2am.
SEE YOU THERE!
Written by Mark Beckett
Everywhere you turn at the moment your eyes simply can’t hide from the hoards of royal wedding memorabilia; Plates, mugs, badges, bumper stickers, keyrings, pencil sharpeners, pencils, pencil cases, suit cases, suits, trousers, shirts, football shirts, football boots (sorry got a bit carried away there), all depicting the bland faces of prince William and Kate Middle-of-the-road. Why – with all the coverage that the wedding is already generating from TV, radio, newspapers, magazines, flyers, town criers, carrier pigeons (I’ll stop now) – would I want to mop up the last traces of gravy from my Sunday roast to reveal the face of a sickeningly clean cut prince and some girl staring back at me.
So come the 29th April, the date in which they will ride the awkward ‘speak now or forever hold your peace’ moment and proceed to get drunk at the reception, which necessitates the return of Harry’s Nazi costume and a best man speech documenting Williams first sexual experience in front of a drunken Queen Elizabeth II, I will not be celebrating it.
I will however be celebrating National Persian Gulf Day, International Dance Day, the 9th day of the Ridvan festival, the 95th anniversary of the end of the Easter Rising and the birthday of tennis legend Andre Agassi. On top of this I will be listening to the following Anti-Royalist songs to give me a glimmer of hope that there is more to British culture than a certain pompous family.
List your choices in the comments section below.
CRASS – BIG A LITTLE a
I think it’s fair to say punk rockers Crass weren’t big fans of religion, government or the royal family. Here they combine all three in a huge two fingers to the establishment. The stand out lyric being their message from the Queen:
‘My prisons and my mental homes have ever open doors
For those amongst my subjects who dare to ask for more
Unruliness and disrespect are things I can’t allow
So I’ll see the peasants grovel if they refuse to bow’
SEX PISTOLS – GOD SAVE THE QUEEN
This list wouldn’t be complete without a contribution from Mr Rotten, you don’t need me to tell you the Sex Pistol’s influence on anarcho-punk. From the moment he stepped onto the Lesser Free Trade Hall stage shouting his sentiments to the future of British music to the moment he stuck it to mainstream butter by advertising Countrylife, there is no questioning his dedication to the anarchic cause. A song disclaiming the Queens status as a human being peaking at number two in the charts, genius.
THE SMITHS – THE QUEEN IS DEAD
A sample of Take Me Back to Dear Old Blighty, thunderous drums and mesmerising guitar courtesy of Johnny Marr provide the perfect backdrop for Morrissey to imagine ‘her very lowness with her head in a sling’ or Charles on the cover of the Daily Mail ‘dressed in his mothers bridal veil’. The peak of the tracks comic imagery comes with Morrissey’s witty exchange with her majesty.
‘So, I broke into the palace
With a sponge and a rusty spanner
She said: “Eh, I know you, and you cannot sing”
I said: “That’s nothing, you should hear me play piano”’
MANIC STREET PREACHERS – WE HER MAJESTY’S PRISONERS
This Generation Terrorists era B-side is a huge stab at the royal family and the imbalance of British society at the time. It contains all the passion and confidence of early Manics records and is a good one to dig up every time you hear about how special the royal wedding is going to be. The lyrics touch on the futility of attracting tourist to the gates of the palace when we don’t know where the money is going. A real fist clencher and a commemorative plate smashing anthem.
STONE ROSES – ELIZABETH MY DEAR
A 53 second track from their debut album politely asking for the monarch to step down. There is nothing more to this track than John Squire’s beautiful arpeggios and Ian Brown’s soft vocals as he states ‘I’ll not rest till she’s lost her throne’. If punk was the bully beating up kids for their dinner money, this track is Oliver innocently asking for more.
BONUS TRACK! – KUNT AND THE GANG – FUCKSTICKS
Kunt and the Gang is back with the biggest dig at the Royal Wedding ever heard so take note as it could cost you your shit job if played at work. Certainly not safe for work and unlikely to be number one this Sunday but get in. Fucksticks is utterly ridiculous but well worthy of a bonus track! Screw you Royals. – Z-Ed
Brew/DTTR
Ltd 10″ vinyl
The formula for this release is simple, Yorkshire labels Brew and Dance to the Radio have teamed up for a limited edition Record Store Day release. Four of their most exciting and upcoming acts Dolphins, Blacklisters, Castrovalva and Hawk Eyes have contributed a track each to create ten explosive minutes of rock.
The pulsating Escape by Dolphins kick-starts procedures with a short sharp dose of chunky riffing. Then comes Club Foot by Kasabian from the hair-raising Blacklisters, advice being don’t spend the whole song working out whether it’s a Kasabian Cover or a quirky song title, that’s unimportant. What’s important is the sheer velocity of the vocals and the word ‘noise’.
The pick of the bunch is third song Senorita by Castrovalva. It has a brash childish thrill that sucks you in and spits you out at the other end. The vocal delivery is electrifying and its robotic feel adds another element to its general haphazardness. It finishes up with Hawk Eyes, who may be more familiar to you as Chickenhawk, pre name change. Their success has been spiralling into the mainstream and with tracks like Yes, Have Some with its hectic fretwork and perplexing guitar licks, you can see why.
This is a startling example of the talent that the city of Leeds is currently throwing up and another jewel in the crown of Record Store Day. Consisting of the finest and noisiest sounds around, it’s a big slap in the face, a pleasant slap in the face if such things exist.
Mark Beckett
Science Skateboards say goodbye to both Ash Hall and Shaun Currie this week who have decided to jump ship for pastures new this month. Enjoy this farewell footage that was filmed for the forthcoming Science promo that will be ready to roll soon featuring the rest of their team.
Random Hand
‘Seething Is Believing’
(Bomber Music/Our Records)
If the term ‘ska/punk’ instantly makes you think of bands in Hawaiian shirts doing wacky covers of popular 80s tunes, then please cast aside those preconceptions for 40-odd minutes. Yorkshire quartet Random Hand have created possibly the most aptly-titled record (their third) of the year, and the musical fury and socially aware lyrics within share more common ground with the Subhumans and Capdown than with the likes of Reel Big Fish. It’s a very well-produced effort, in the sense that it sounds beefy rather than polished, and there’s plenty of British grittiness in the mix.
None of this would count for much if the overall result wasn’t any fun to listen to; but as the raging guitars and air-raid-siren horns of ‘Tales Of Intervention’ come ripping through the speakers, you’d have to be dead (or possibly a Paramore fan) not to feel at least a slight adrenaline rush.‘Not A Number’ and ‘Due To Circumstance’ should deservedly strike a chord with anyone who’s feeling the pinch of the government’s financial cuts, and first single ‘Bones’ is a ‘carpe diem’ anthem up there with the best of them. But perhaps the most impressive cut on offer is ‘Floating Ghosts’ which segues seamlessly from a raucous start, through islands of reggae-esque calm, to a metallic riff-driven finale; a fine indicator of the band’s versatility.
‘Seething Is Believing’ may well suggest that the quality of UK ska/punk has not declined with its popularity, but ultimately Random Hand shouldn’t be labelled as part of a particular musical scene. They’re a smart, hard-rocking band that kick serious arse live – and they’re probably playing near you soon.
Alex Gosman
It’s the final 2 days of this year’s egg hunt so if you want to win this VANS package then find the golden egg and contact us with the URL of the page where it is hidden. One lucky winner will win and be contacted from our Facebook page so follow the instructions of how to win here.
1) To enter, like our facebook page.
2)Find the egg that is currently hidden on one of the pages in the skate zine features section maybe? Yes, there’s a tip.
3)Copy the URL of the page that you find the egg on. Go to our contact page and include the URL and leave us a brief reason why you should be sent the swag plus your shoe size and clothing sizes!
The competition closes Friday 29th April at midnight and the winner will be contacted via Facebook over the weekend (hence you need to be a fan of our page) and announced in skate news on Saturday afternoon.
Please note that the product won may differ slightly from the images you see in this due to available colours and sizes in stock. This competition is open to everyone apart from staff of Crossfire or Division Promotions
Chris Atherton‘s wonderful video edits have entertained us for years and this week he has posted a brand new one jam packed with British splendour as expected.
Hootnot is the third in a series of Catweazle online edits that include Sinpanthrash and Monatomic Decoy featuring skating from Avi, William Sayer, Jesse James and Blaster Bates. Slow down your life for 5 mins and get tech.
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Analog have posted a short, new edit featuring the UK’s Ben Nordberg, Luke Croker, Sam Winter and Dylan Rieder enjoying a session at Ashbridges Skatepark in Toronto, Canada today.
Watch it here.
The Gnargore lads from Brum have been busy filming for a new scene release and offcuts from their forthcoming promo video titled Goblin Council have been posted online today.
Find more from this lot at www.gnargore.co.uk and read more about what goes on up in the West Midlands scene here from their last offering, Wizard Council.