Chestnut Road (Toulouse France) UK Tour 2013

Because having a baby, a full-time job and a band isn’t enough to make all my hair fall out I decide to help out the rather fantastique Chestnut Road book some UK dates. I don’t offer to help that many bands these days with tours as it can get a tad hassle-filled and it’s rather time consuming. However these lot are something special and well worth the time so make sure you go and check them out. If you’re into bands like Mega City Four, Snuff, Blocko, Hooton Three Car or Midway Still then you’ll dig this.

The tour is a short jaunt as they’re also doing a week in France on the way over (turns out that France is a bigger country than I thought) but if the gigs go well then hopefully they can come over for a longer spell in future.

July 7th – Cardiff – Gwdhiw

July 8th – Nottingham – JT Soar

July 9th – Sheffield – The Red House

July 10th – Cambridge – The Corner House

July 11th – Canterbury – The Lady Luck

Clean Shirts – Leeds – 20.09.12

Clean Shirts, Wharf Chambers, Leeds, 20.09.12

Get Human were very kindly asked to play at Wharf Chambers last week with Dry Heaves, Eagulls, Kids Insane and an awesome new band from Harrogate Clean Shirts. I don’t know much about them except this was only their second ever gig and they ripped it up. Here’s a video of one of their songs and if I find a link to more about them I’ll post it right up.

Out of Spite XII

So…I’m a bit slack at the moment but eh, what can you do?  I went to Out of Spite XII in August and saw some of the finest bands the UK has to offer (though the whole ‘undercurrent’ of showing how we don’t need big foreign bands to make a gig was lost when PAGE OF PUNK TORE THE GODDAMN ROOF OFF THE PLACE).  It was amazing to see a band like Bangers headline who I’ve seen go from their first Brighton gig where their ‘sound’ was a bit vague to the tight, confident band who had a packed out Brudenell singing along.

Anyway, there’s better reviews elsewhere but here’s some footage from the weekend:  First up we have a video of SOUTHLANDS on their first jant up North.  Comprised of former/current members of Circus Act, Chillerton, Jets Vs Sharks, Livers & Lungs and You Me & The Atom Bomb they had a lot to live up to but for me they exceeded all expectations and even as a big fan of their past bands I enjoyed Southlands much more than any previous outfits any of them had been in.  Looking forward to some more recordings soon.

Southlands

Well it wouldn’t be a Leeds punk gig without the Mag’s.  When I moved up two years ago I was looking forward to getting to see them more and I’m still not bored yet.  Just getting better and better and with the addition of Beefy on bass at OOS (and hopefully in future?) the band put in a great set (as you can see)

The Magnificent

Finally for this post, the icing on the cake, the best till last (you get the picture).  WOODERSON are a band I’ve always been aware of, Sam has also been around in the DIY scene as has helped out past bands of mind so I’ve always tried to keep up to date with his band.  I’ve always enjoyed them but never really made a massive effort to go and see them if they were playing a ‘bit too far away’ but after seeing them at OOS the game has changed.  As far as I’m concerned Wooderson are right there at the top of the DIY scene right now and they really are a band that can go as far as they want.  I have little in the way of comparison but to me they evoke Fugazi, Embrace and maybe even Husker Du, Big Black and Naked Raygun at times (tenuous but I think it’s in there!).  Basically make up your own mind, they have very kindly allowed me to give out a live recording of their set from OOS XII for free, so download HERE, enjoy and then go and buy their new album ‘Let The Man Speak’ from Bombed Out.

Some Sort of Threat – You Can Call Me Al

Thanks to everyone who came to the gig at Dock Street Market last night, it was a bit odd at times with talking levels but most people seemed to be into it (as seen by the great amount of donations people gave!) and all the acts were really awesome and are welcome back anytime at all (in fact Rory is back at this gig that Hello Bastards are putting on rather soon).  Dock St were awesome to work with and were helpful all night (and provided some rather amazing food) so massive cheers to them and I hope to be doing something again with them soon.

Other massive thanks go to the cool dude who came on and ended the night with a perfect Kinks cover and to The Mannions (TM) who rescued my shoe box full of 7″‘s that I left behind the bar (Toto, Kenickie and more – oof!).

Here’s a video of Rory Matthews (aka Some Sort of Threat) and Olive Anne doing a rather nice cover of a rather nice song.

El Morgan, Helen Chambers, Some Sort of Threat, Olive Ann – Leeds

Frankly I’m getting tired of these ‘…this is the last gig I’m doing for ages’ bullshit but I genuinely intended not to put any gigs on for the rest of the year but for reasons that will become apparent soon I REALLY won’t be doing any gigs from Oct onwards for a good whilst so lap this shit up!

Another reason for this gig is because come on who could turn down this loveable gang of Southerners?!  All of the artists playing this gig are top people and incredible musicians so it’s a real joy to put them all on together and to be having Dock Street Market host the event really tops the cake.  If you don’t know the venue it’s central Leeds, has it’s own bakery, amazing meat, veggie, vegan food and a shit ton of amazing drinks.  To top it off, it’s the Dock Street Market social on this night so there will be loads of people just coming to hang out so come on down…

The New Wave of Cut & Paste Presents…

…a night of uplifting folk music! Tuesday 7th August 2012 at Dock Street Market (Dock Street, Leeds) …

EL MORGAN

http://elmorgan.bandcamp.com/ Straight out of Southsea! If you know her and her songs – you love her, if you are yet to meet her then be prepared for the sheer awesomeness.  Huge of voice and heart, El’s punk inspired folk represents the finest on offer.

HELEN CHAMBERS

http://helenchambers.bandcamp.com/ London’s loss was York’s gain when Helen moved North.  Uplifting thoughtful country/folk bangers.  Imagine if you will Hank Williams were he a Northern Lady.

SOME SORT OF THREAT

http://somesortofthreat.bandcamp.com/ A man so young should not be such an accomplished musician, so leave your resentment and jealousy at the door!  Channelling Crass and Billy Bragg via an acoustic guitar.

OLIVE ANNE

http://oliveanne.bandcamp.com/ The wandering musician from Cardiff via Southampton and one of the soon to be huge folk trio THREE PAIRS OF SHOES.  Olive shows she can belt it out solo on this rare Northern gig.

There will also be the amazing opportunity to get involved with the usual Dock Street Market Tuesday Social where you can try your hand at knitting, letter writing or board games before (or politely during!) acts. There are loads of awesome drinks offers, including discounted Tea Pot Cocktails and a chance to try the highly recommended Root Beer Floats as well as Dock Streets usual fantastic selection of craft beers and tasty veggie/vegan/meat food menu.

The gig is FREE ENTRY but a quid or two chucked in the donation glass would be much appreciated to cover the act’s petrol costs. Feel free to come down whenever you like and bands will be playing from around 7:30

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Jungleland – a Springzine

A little whilst back I was put in touch with a chap called Matthias who was putting together a collection of articles, stories and ideas based around Bruce Springsteen.  As someone partial to THE GODDAMN BOSS I was a little keen to contribute.  Fast-forward some time to now and this zine is well and truly out there (in fact it sold over 100 copies in a week!).  This is what it looks like:

Matthias has done an amazing job with the zine and it’s a truly great collection.  You can pick up a copy from here  where you can also see some excerpts (*cough* including mine *cough*).  So get on board before these are only available on ebay.  Hopefully there will be some available in the North of England via the NWOCAP money machine (i.e. I’m going to try and sell some at Jumbo and Crash record shops and maybe at gigs).

Down & Outs/The Dauntless Elite/Pure Graft/Bear Trade – 15.04.12 Leeds

Sunday April 15th @ The Royal Park Cellars, Leeds

DOWN AND OUTS
http://www.myspace.com/downandouts
Everyone’s favourite Liverpudians return to blow you away with their beautiful blend of sugar coated po-punk and cockney hooks.

THE DAUNTLESS ELITE
http://www.thedauntlesselite.com/
With their new album “More Bloody Bad News” the American Steel/Leatherface comparisons are out the window and they now just sound like TDE. Melodic, mature mid-paced punk rock.

PURE GRAFT
http://puregraft.bandcamp.com/
SPPPPPPPPPPPPPPUGGY! Byker Grove jokes aside, Pure Graft play fast technical (yet pretty catchy) hardcore punk and are getting better with every gig

BEAR TRADE
Brand new band with ex-FCM/Blocko/Southport/Mingers chaps, I expect good things (or I’ll have their balls!)

£4 in, bands from 8pm and all done by 10.30 on a Sunday night, This is going to be a good one!

Amazing poster (unsure why it’s stretched on wordpress?) by Dan Bowden (check out http://www.danbowdendesign.co.uk/)

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Brighton Hydrant – 26.02.2012

My new band went on a little weekend jaunt last week with our pals in Matadors.  It was good fun taking in four gigs in 48 hours heading to Boston, Brixton, Dorking and Brighton before dashing back up the motorway for bed-time in Leeds and work on Monday morning.  Great times were had all round (but I won’t bore you with the in-jokes of a poorly written tour diary).

In Brighton I decided to try out the video camera on my new phone and it turns out that it’s pretty shit hot (all I need now is a decent Digital Voice Recorder and the blog can return to it’s full glory!).  So here’s some videos from that gig which the rather marvelous Dan Bowden put on for us on a gloriously hot February Sunday.

Emergency Bitter opened the gig and these soft skinheads from Fulham have really upped their game.  They remind me of Cock Sparrer if Ian Dury was fronting them (they were crying out to do a cover of “Working” – make it happen lads!).  So here’s a video of their unofficial anthem ‘Sold My Soul’.  You can find out more about them here and pick up their great EP.

Caution Horses from Brighton/London were up next.  These lot have been around for about six years now and never fail to dissapoint.  Veering somewhere between Mclusky, The Pixies and Shellac, they describe themselves as “To clever for the punks and too loud for the indie kids” and I’d say that was a fair assessment!  Also check out bassist Doog’s bandcamp page where you can listen to and download album’s by his other bands which are definately worth a punt.  They’re off on a tour round the former USSR so throw them some money!

Then before the headliners The Social Club (who I was too busy dancing to to get any videos) Leed’s finest exponents of angular rock and roll Matadors were up.  I’ve raved about them before but just check out these two videos to make up your own mind.  If you’re into bands like Murder City Devils, the Hot Snakes, Sultans et al then damn well give these a listen.  You can stream/download their album here so make sure you do.

Protectors/Digger Barnes/Achtung Everybody!/Jimmy Islip/Get Human @ The Fox & Newt

Yeah yeah I know, I said no more gigs but when Bombed Out Records come calling, who knows what happens when you say no?  This little shin-dig is a warm up for the main event the following day at The Well but should provide some pretty awesome entertainment for the good people of Leeds on a cold Friday night!

The gig takes place at The Fox & Newt (just a minute away from The Well) in their suprisingly well kitted out gig room (and check out the amazingly cheap and tasty food before the gig!), performing for you on the night we have…

Protectors – Wakefield’s finest!  Gradually becoming Legends in the locality of Yorkshire (and hopefully soon and beyond).  Having plied their trade in such previous greats as Nathanial Green, Dugong, Chopper and Pylon these lads know how to rock out a tune or two.  Evoking Supergrass and Guided By Voices their indie ditties are well worth checking out.

Digger Barnes – all the way from Hamburg, this travelling troubedour was last seen over these shores with Austin Lucas and left quite a mark.  If you’re into Richmond Fontaine and the like then be sure to get down!

Achtung Everybody! Fast, tight and sexy.  And that’s just frontman Benny’s legs when he’s on his bike.  AE! don’t play enough gigs due to several complicated reasons (disorganisation apparently one of the more prevelant ones), so make sure you get to see them here.  Technical yet catchy punk rock not a million miles from Strike Anywhere and all that.

Jimmy Islip.  Yes he of That Fucking Tank, The Magnificent, Kill Yourself and Milloy but on his tod!  Singing bittersweet acoustic anthems.  Check out his split with Helen Chambers, Sam Russo and Chuck Ragan.  Good times.

Get Human.  Er it’s me new band innit!  Don’t let that put you off.  I’d like to think we sound like Snuff, J-Church or Sicko but I’d also like a lot of things so don’t put too much weight on that.

£4 in, bands from 7.30

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Seawolves & Spines in Wakefield 24.09.11

On Sat 24th September, the fine folk at Keep The Beat put on a great line up at The Hop in Wakefield with Southport, Caves, Crocodile God, Helen Chambers, Spines, Seawolves, The Magnificent and even my new lot Get Human.  All the bands were ace and it was great to catch up with a load of people I hadn’t seen for a while.  It was also great to see people who might be considered an age I am fast approaching still putting on and playing gigs in a DIY fashion and generally being top folk.

I didn’t get much recorded but here’s a song from the rather fantastic Seawolves who feature a couple of familiar faces from Chopper and Torinho 74.   They remind me a bit of Hooton 3 Car or Mega City 4 but with more of an 80’s indie feel so if you’re into that sort of thing, keep an eye out.

I also recorded two songs from Spines, and yes the first one is the same song as the one I uploaded from Out of Spite, but hey, I may be called many things, but professional has never been one of them!