Pete Doherty is in trouble again? Surely not? This time it is because the Babyshambles singer missed his court appearance yesterday due to being stuck in Paris following his band’s show the night before.
He was due in court for a review of his community order but due to his no-show, the case has been adjourned until May, whilst Babyshambles continue their European tour.
Remember One Minute Silence? Well lead singer Yap is back with his unique brand of spoken word poetry. His new group Pink Punk will be performing a free show, which will include a poetry slam, on April 20th.
The night will include a free lecture, a slam and a question and answer session with Yap about the absence of philosophy in our society.
The night will begin at 7pm sharp and if you want to get along to see it, then you’ll need to get to the Oliver Thompson Theatre, City University, Northampton Square in East London.
Check out www.ppunk.com for more info.
‘Live At The Palladium’
(Epitaph)
If you have a strong interest in punk or, indeed, skate culture, then you probably have at least a rough idea of who Bad Religion are and what they sound like. For the uninitiated, these Californian punk veterans originally formed in the early Eighties, and have since influenced countless other bands; not just through their own music, but also through Epitaph Records, the now hugely successful record label started by band founder and guitarist Brett Gurewitz.
Now celebrating 25 years together as a band, Greg Graffin et al have finally seen fit to release a live DVD, and have made a pretty impressive job of it too. Filmed at a near-hometown show at the Hollywood Palladium last year, it features a mammoth 31-song set list, with a choice of songs to keep just about any Bad Religion fan happy (Generator’, ‘We’re Only Gonna Die’, ‘Atomic Garden’ they’re all here). Plus, for non-Californian fans, there’s the added bonus of seeing the band playing live with Gurewitz (who rejoined the band in 2001 on a recording – but not touring – basis).
However, the main appeal of ‘Live At The Palladium’ lies in the various between-song interviews with the band and their fans, which give an interesting (and often entertaining) insight into the genesis of Bad Religion, their history, their influences and various other aspects of the band. Amongst the fans interviewed are a couple of the guys from Rise Against, one of the many latter-day punk bands who have taken inspiration from Bad Religion and their legacy. There’s also an’Extras’ section featuring some amusing television footage of the band from the early Eighties, as well as a selection of promo videos and photos.
Overall, this DVD is an excellent document of a band who not only boast an impressive back catalogue, but have also recently produced some of the best music of their career. 25 years and still going strong – you can put your faith in this Bad Religion.
Long knows as Jehst’s hypeman, Asaviour has finally dropped his own solo album and he steps from the shadows to prove that he is one of the heavyhitters in the UK hip hop game. This album involves a whole host of UK beatmakers, including Evil Ed, Jehst, Ghost, Braintax, Mr Thing and Asaviour himself.
From single So Northern with its bouncy beat and untouchable flow through the more laid back Field Of Dreams to the hard pianos of Bangers N Mash, Asaviour rhymes with ease and brings his distinctive voice to the landscape set out in front of him. He brings in guest rappers like Yungun, Kyza and Braintax and doesn’t just hold his own, he outdoes them all, and once again his rapping alongside Jehst is as brilliant as ever.
Asaviour is no longer the fun loving sidekick of UK hip hop, he’s now right up there punching with the heavyweights and if this album is any indication of what the future holds, then everyone around him will need to borrow a ladder of their own to reach his level.
Listening to Bullets And Octane’s forthcoming second album, ‘In The Mouth Of The Young’, you’d be forgiven for thinking them to be the kind of guys who’d drink your whisky, screw your girlfriend and ride off on your motorbike if you turned your back on them for a second.
After all, this Orange County quartet play lean, mean, full-throttle punk rock n’ roll like it’s in their blood; however, in person, they’re very friendly and approachable!
They recently visited the UK for the first time, supporting fellow OC rockers Avenged Sevenfold, and I caught up with Gene Louis (vocals) and Brent Clawson (bass) before the London Astoria show.
So, how’s the tour going so far?
GENE: It’s been going great, man, it’s our first time here…the kids seem to love it, there’s a lot of people who know the words to our songs, the shows have all been amazing with regard to the energy from the crowd. It’s like, we’ve just come over from the States; we’re a bit jetlagged, trying to figure out where the hell we are [laughs], so to get up onstage and see how great the crowds are, it’s like “Fuck, we’re on, let’s do it!”
How did this tour (and the previous one with Social Distortion) come about? Are you guys old friends?
BRENT: Yeah, it’s been going on for about three months now, and basically we all kinda knew each other because we’re all from the same neighbourhood and play the same genres of music, so it worked out that way pretty well.
How well known would you say you are in the States?
G: It would be the same as, uh…Christianity! [mass laughter]
Ha ha, quote of the year already!
B: It’s going pretty well actually – this is our first year of really hardcore touring; we’ve been touring our first CD [2004’s ‘Revelry’] for a while, so this year we’re gonna be touring the new record, and it’s coming right along, city to city. Every time we come back, it’s like the same people along with a load of new people; the word’s spread, it’s getting out there…it’s been really good.
I noticed that you have a Myspace page; has the internet helped you to get heard?
G: Oh yeah – it’s like, Myspace is the biggest thing for any company these days, it’s a great tool for meeting new bands and fans and, uh, women! [more laughter]
You’ve been described as ‘Social Distortion meets Guns N’ Roses’ – would you say that’s accurate, and are there any other particular bands that have really influenced you?
You sometimes remind me of the Supersuckers…
G: You know, that’s a great thing, because I hear a lot of different opinions from different people about what we sound like – and that’s cool, because we don’t really wanna get pigeonholed as just one kind of band…we’re influenced by a lot of old rock n’ roll, a lot of jazz, some old punk rock…it’s like, we all come from different types of backgrounds, but together we’re Bullets And Octane, so that’s cool.
You’ve got a very decadent sound, so I have to ask: can you guys hold your own in the partying stakes?
G: Well, yeah, on this trip it’s got to the point where if I’m not sleeping, I’m drinking! Usually I’m drinking so I can fall asleep, cos I’ve got this fucking jetlag…other than that though, people here seem to buy us a lot of drinks; it’s like [does brilliant British accent] “Come do a shot, mate!”, so you do shots of Jager, got some Jack Daniels in there too…and the next thing I know, I’m on the floor!
B: Funny story – one night when we were on tour in America with Avenged, we went to a bar with them after the show, and our drummer was so hammered that he started pissing all over the bar, and this bar brawl broke out…it was like a scene out of ‘Roadhouse’!
Haha! – You seem to tour a lot – would you say that you’re more of a live band than a studio band?
G: Both, man, they’re both great experiences…on the one hand, you wanna get out there, you wanna play, get dirty, enjoy it night by night…but when you’re in a creative mood, being in the studio is amazing too.
B: We learned to play in a studio; the first songs we wrote were on an 8-track recorder in a storage shed…that was before we had a full band, when it was just us two writing songs – so, you know, the studio environment has kinda become part of us.
What are Bullets And Octane’s plans for the near future, after this UK tour ends?
G: After this, we go back to the United States and we do our own tour there during April, supporting our new record coming out…that’ll last about five weeks, see where it takes us, then we’ll probably go back to the studio and do some more recording. But for now, we just hope to get back to the States alive, take things a day at a time!
‘In The Mouth Of The Young’ is released in late April. Check www.bullets-and-octane.com for more info.
London King’s Cross Water Rats
15/3/06
Hats off to the folks at Gravity DIP Records for putting on this show; it’s a line-up that certainly warrants leaving the house on a freezing Wednesday night. Kill Kill Disconnect’s propulsive indie rock is a welcome treat for the early birds, but it’s Boom In The Diamond Industry who really get the party started, mixing up scratchy guitars with supremely addictive grooves on anthems-in-waiting like ‘The Gift’. It’s still early days for the ‘Industry boys, but they’ve got confidence and tunes in spades, and even manage to get most of tonight’s previously static crowd dancing. Awesome stuff.
Next up is Kingston’s very own folk-pop troubadour Dave House whose heartfelt but often witty tales receive some much deserved crowd accompaniment. Plus, it’s always nice to be reminded that a handsome young man with an acoustic guitar need not equal James Blunt-esque blandness.
“We’re still here, and we’re more up for it than ever!” announces Capdown frontman Jake, three songs into their set. He does not lie; the band clearly relishing the intimacy of the venue as the sold-out crowd goes seven shades of apeshit.from the start.
If ska-punk’s popularity is on the wane, then this lot either don’t know or (more likely) don’t care, because the clutch of new songs aired tonight boast even more righteous ska-core firepower than the storming renditions of ‘Act Your Rage’ or ‘Cousin Cleotis’ – if that’s possible. Make no mistake: Capdown are back with a vengeance, and you’d be a fool not to pay attention this time
To celebrate the release of their upcoming debut single Bang Bang You’re Dead, Carl Barat’s Dirty Pretty Things are to play a free show at the HMV in London’s Oxford Street.
The performance will take place on the 24th of April and will start at 6pm with a signing afterwards. 400 wristbands will be given out at 9am on a first come first served basis.
Check out www.dirtyprettythingsband.com for all the official info.
John 5, the guitarist in Marilyn Manson, has revealed that his new band are called Loser. The guitarist, who has just come off co-writing and playing with Rob Zombie, has scheduled an album release for Loser around the beginning of June.
The group, who will feature 5, Charles Lee on bass, Glendon Crane on drums and singer Joe Grah, will move away from darker metal, with John 5 likening it to eating different foods, “it’s good to have a little bit more variety”.
The album will be called Just Like You and tracks featuring on it include Nobody Knows, Without You [Inside Out] and Disposable Sunshine.
Check out their myspace page here.
Reports are going around that Eminem’s right hand man Proof, real name DeShaun Hotlon, was shot dead at a club in Detroit earlier today, with another man wounded with gunshots to the head.
The other man’s identity hasn’t been released but it has been confirmed that it wasn’t fellow D12 memberBizarre after rumours saying it was, and who is in critical condition in hospital. Let’s hope the gangland element of rap isn’t coming back, it’s something no-one needs.
Roy Kerr, whose alter ego is The Freelance Hellraiser, is finally dropping an album, Waiting For Clearance, after his fame has spread thanks to his mash ups, in particular the combining of Christina Aguilera and The Strokes [Stroke Of Genius].
The album, which is due for release on the 26th of June, has Gary Lightbody of Snow Patrol and Iain Archer formerly of Snow Patrol guesting on the album with production coming from Hugo Nicolson who was partly responsible for Primal Scream’s Screamadelica.
A new single from the album, called You Can Cry All You Want, is going to drop on the 12th of June and the album will be available to download on the 29th of June.
Check out the official site at www.thefreelancehellraiser.com