Mark Ronson capped a huge 2007 with a Brit award last night.
The producer, who has seen Version become a massive hit, picked up the award for Best Britishm Male Solo Artist. Other winners included Arctic Monkeys, who turned up in full hunting gear, Sir PauL McCartney, Foo Fighters, Amy Winehouse and newcomer Adele.
20.02.08
Photos by Zac
Liverpool’s punk and hardcore scene has been infected with Cold Ones, a relatively new project that sees Heroin Skateboards pro skater Howard Cooke swap axes and find some new band mates after the demise of Walk The Plank.
Mouthy singer Russell Longmire shared some words with Zac following their London show at The Macbeth.
Firstly, how did this fine mess manage to come together?
Right time, right place, probably started off with lots of drunken claim, let’s do a band blah, blah, we all knew each other anyhow and a had a vague idea of what we didn’t want to sound like.
I personally felt there wasn’t a band out there who was playing punk how I liked it. We were like ‘let’s play some straight forward punk but deliver it with personality and humour, keep it intense but cut out all the tough guy HxC shit. That’s what we do, that’s the essence of the Fifth Dimension of rock music! That’s D5!!! It’s like when you got a bunch of bead eggs – best thing to do it scamble them or just throw them at people!
So, you have ex-members of Walk the Plank, Hammer Attack and Second Guess, do you feel as though you guys are ready to take it to the big time – you know, get onto X Factor and shit?
X factor? Yeah we’ve played with Xstraight-edgeX bands, we even got offered to play a D.A.R.E benefit once! We have felt the X-factor.
Liverpool’s Hardcore scene has had a good bit of action over the last few years. How do you see it progressing, are there more younger kids coming to the shows and getting in to it?
Theres a bit of a venue draught at the moment but the when gigs happens kids are still sneaking beers and boards in the backdoor, hurling abuse, bro-ing off, spewing up, pushing each other over. It’s very Liverpool. Hopefully in time they will realise they too can do exactly the same but on a stage and get paid!! We will testify it’s not about skills and keeping up with modern technology its about having a laugh with a bunch mates, using what tools you have to the best of your ability and putting on a good show. Fuck what people are going to think of you, just be confident and let loose. Spin people out a bit, leave an impression. We don’t need more pretentious Liverpool indie/pop bullshit. The Beatles are dead and The Wombats look like roller bladers!!!
So, it’s a 5 piece, all blokes. You all skate?
We’ve not done a gig without five boards in the back. If were leaving town they make good self defense weapons!
So Howard (Cooke) is now playing guitar, how come he switched from bass that he played in Walk The Plank?
Never really picked up a bass until Walk The Plank and rarely did when I was in them but I’d always have a guitar to wank on in the house.
Is a warm beer completely out of the question for all band members?
If you pay for its gotta be COLD, if you steal it you can’t be fussy.
I take it from your live show at The Macbeth that you enjoyed annilhilating skateboard industry bods and Hoxton mongaloids – not really like Liverpool down here is it?
Lot of turds in the industry, and when you see that side of it, you loose grasp off whats best about skating, but people who are in the know are out there and all the swamps will get weeded out eventually. As for the Hipsters……they’re just easy targets.
What other bands influence you?
FEAR, GENTLEMANS PISTOL, FANG, DISCHARGE, TURBONEGRO, BL’AST, QUEEN, SABBATH, DANZIG…..we all listen different shit. Along as its rips and gets ya in the frame of mind for alternative intelligence. Music to get weird too!
Do you reckon you can pay the rest of the band to move at the next gig?
The Romans built they Empire with powerful statues, now we’ll build ours.
Having Foxy as a roadie must be like having Fozzie bear on the road, does he come in handy or is he a miserable git like when fronts SSS?
When he’s not wearing his headset playing Xbox he has his moments of comedy genius, but he does scare off of the ladies. Instead he attracts loads of smelly bearded Metal Hammer readers!
If you had to steal another bands cold rider of your choice from a dressing room whose would it be?
Amy Winehouse’s! Ha! Someone left a tin of red paint in the back room and Josephs well in Leeds once….Opppps bad mixer!
Did you guys play Livi in 2007?
Took 7 hours to get there, pissed down with rain, stage was soaked and deemed too unsafe to play. Saw Div and this maniac dude named Haggis walking round covered in their own blood after defending their skatepark from invading council estate smack children. A statement of solidarity that all locals should have for there home turf! It was pretty ugly, so we went to Edinburgh, crashed a yuppie party, stole a bottle of JD and fizzled into the Scottish void.
Trouble seems to follow you then?
Yeah, it seems that way. The shadow of misbeheaviour is never too far away though. It just comes out when exposed to certain light conditions. We live in the D5 and speak in terms of Testiculation! If people can’t get down with that, then they gotta leave.
True or False – football fans in Sheffield wanted to get you after a show?
They did chase one us down an alley, we survived.
True or False – you sprayed your band name on a wall outside a gig in London and got thrown out?
No comment, but Inepsy have very bad English but amazing songs!
You fell on your head and almost died at a recent show?
Head stands on stages with monitors after abusing Municipal Waste’s rider is not advisable. G.G wanted to explode on stage too though.
True or False – all of the band are carded members of the original Blue Oyster Bar?
Not all of us but our drummer did contribute the cowbell to the song ‘don’t fear the reaper’.
True or False – 2 birds from Hollyoaks were spotted at a gig of yours fingering themselves?
Soon to be seen on an episode of late night Hollyoaks XXX, we’re the house band, like Circle Jerks in Repo man or TSOL in Suburbia.
What’s coming up?
Pimpin our 7” which is out now on GHOST CITY Records and available of our myspace, writing new stuff for a new record and planning a bunch of mini tours this summer. We’re going all over! STAY THIRSTY
Find Cold Ones at www.myspace.com/coldonesinyergut
Southampton Guildhall
17/01/08
Plus: Bloodsimple, Black Tide.
With its early 1900’s architecture and gigantic clock tower that can be seen for miles around, Southampton’s Guildhall stands as arguably one of the most unique and distinctive venues the UK has to offer. Add to this the fact that less than two hours before the doors swung open this evening, the building was filled with busy workers finishing off their day – the result of the venue doubling as the city’s council offices.
As hundreds huddle by the front doors, a short walk from the tour buses that hold tonight’s headliners, Miami quartet Black Tide set the pace with a 25-minute set of distinctly 80’s hard rock. Despite their tender ages (front man Gabriel is just 15, while bass player Zakk stands as the group’s elder statesman at barely 18) they create a racket that defies their years, leaning heavily on 80’s influences such as Megadeth and Motley Crue. The likes of Black Abyss display a penchant for writing genuinely catchy yet cleverly crafted choruses, and despite a few technical glitches that rear their head during the first two songs, their performance tonight is enough to suggest that with a bit of hard touring and some much needed experience, this is a band capable of bigger things.
By the time New Yorkers Bloodsimple appear, the aforementioned huddlers are firmly inside, filling the cavernous room with a genuine sense of excitement as well as bodies. Starting their set with new song Ride With Me – a three-minute-plus concoction of spoken word vocals and subtle guitar atmospherics – the quintet make what appears to be a suicidal start. Until, that is, they blast through a thunderous rendition of the mammoth-riffed Red Harvest, lending the entire floor an appearance similar to that of a trampoline. With barely a second’s rest they carry themselves with an energy that seemingly knows no boundaries; front man Tim Williams spending much of the set perched atop the monitors and commanding the crowd with ease. “How did it sound out there tonight?” he’ll ask afterwards, stuffing his freshly dirtied clothes into a nearby rucksack. “I heard Southampton is a pretty tough crowd to win over. They either love you or hate you. Hopefully we did pretty well tonight.”
Tonight, though, is about one band: Avenged Sevenfold. As the first few punters squeezed through the doors shortly after 7pm, most wasted little time in sprinting firmly towards the barrier, desperate to secure the best (and also most uncomfortable) spot in the house. Others embraced their friends in excitement, sprinting across the floor and enjoying the vast space that would soon be filled with over 2,000 people. So it comes as little surprise that, as the lights dip and the haunting organs of Critical Acclaim begin to slither out of the speakers, the scream that goes up is powerful enough to knock you flat on your arse from a mile away.
Entering one by one – culminating with vocalist M. Shadows standing centre stage, a mic stand held high above his head – it’s the start of what will soon be known as one of the best gigs Southampton has seen in some time. And, tonight, there are literally a hundreds reasons as to why. There’s the explosive, creepingly intense opening riff of The Beast And The Harlot. There’s the crowd-led rendition of Gunslinger that sees thousands of hands pierce the sky. There’s even an impromptu run through the Sex Pistols’ Anarchy In The UK, with Shadows changing the words to “I am Johnny Christ” in tribute to the band’s frequently picked on bassist.
It’s this moment in particular that signals the biggest change in Avenged Sevenfold, because what stands out above all else is that tonight, this is a band playing with smiles on their faces. A band that for the first time in two years look as though they’re enjoying being onstage, rather than treating it as a chore. As they treat the crowd to a closing run through the much-loved Unholy Confessions, it’s a happiness and excitement that has clearly transferred over to each and every person present, filling the street outside with smiles and squeals of excitement. A sign, you sense, that tonight may well be the start of something even bigger.
Ryan Bird
Photos by Graham Pentz @ G-Tizzle Photography
Converge are hitting the UK in July.
You can check out their new tour at the following dates:
13th – Underworld, London
14th – Rock City, Nottingham
15th – Ivory Blacks, Glasgow
16th – The Brook, Southampton
17th – Corporation, Sheffield
18th – Underworld, London
Grooverider is to serve 4 years in prison.
The DJ was caught with a small amount of pot in Dubai last November and has just been given the minimum sentence for possession of drugs in the UAE – 4 years in prison. An appeal is planned but Radio 1, his employers, have said:
“He made a serious mistake and is paying a very high price.”
Blood Red Shoes have announced the details of their debut album.
The album will be called Box Of Secrets and will hit the shops on April 14th. The album title was explained by Laura-Mary of the band saying:
“It means things that we can talk about with each other, but that we can’t share with anyone else. Sometimes one of us will say something, and then the other will be like, ‘There’s something for the box of secrets’… The box is getting pretty full now.”
The album will feature the following songs:
‘Doesn’t Matter Much’
‘You Bring Me Down’
‘Try Harder’
‘Say Something Say Anything’
‘I Wish I Was Someone Better’
‘Take The Weight’
‘ADHD’
‘This Is Not For You’
‘It’s Getting Boring By The Sea’
‘Forgive Nothing’
‘Hope You Are Holding Up’
Adem is the next in line to release a covers album.
Takes will see PJ Harvey, The Breeders, Bjork and the Smashing Pumpkins covered amongst others. The record is due to be released on May 12th with Adem playing Union Chapel in London on March 25th. The full tracklisting is:
Bedhead – ‘Bedside Table’
PJ Harvey – ‘Oh My Lover’
Lisa Germano – ‘Slide’
Pinback – ‘Loro’
dEUS – ‘Hotellounge (Be The Death Of Me)’
Aphex Twin – ‘To Cure A Weakling Child + Boy/Girl Song’
Yo La Tengo – ‘Tears Are In Your Eyes’
Smashing Pumpkins – ‘Starla’
Tortoise – ‘Gamera’
Björk – ‘Unravel’
The Breeders – ‘Invisible Man’
Low – ‘Laser Beam’
Cat Power has announced a short UK tour.
The singer, who played in London earlier this year, will hit the road in June on the follow dates:
8th – London Hammersmith Apollo
9th – Bristol Colston Hall
10th – Birmingham Academy
11th – Manchester Academy
The Charlatans have announced a new tour.
The band, who will be supporting their new album You Cross My Path, which is out as a free download from the XFM website, will kick off the tour in Leicester, ending in Manchester. Here are the full dates:
May
10th – Leicester Leicester University
11th – Liverpool Carling Academy
12th – Oxford Carling Academy
13th – Bristol Carling Academy
15th – London Forum
16th – Southampton Guildhall
17th – Lincoln Engine Shed
19th – Aberdeen Music Hall
20th – Glasgow Carling Academy
22nd – Newcastle Carling Academy
23rd – Sheffield Carling Academy
24th – Manchester Academy
Everyone loves Justice, so here’s their new video.
Check out Moynihan’s live review here.