I know it's early days for myself and Dead Dead Dead, but I'm pretty hopeful, and still feeling very optimistic about the whole thing. I didn't get the funding I was after, but it's ok as I can still do everything in my initial plan, so all is not lost. I've got an amazing release in December going out between myself and Fuck Happy Endings in Leeds, which will be epic. I'm sure you've heard about it already, and I'll put proper details up this week, but it's going to be so awesome you have no idea.
The idea for merch, specifically T-shirts, is fairly obvious on all counts. first off, they're cool as fuck. My favourite things in the world are my band tee's, and it's pretty much a guarantee that if you ever see me, I'm wearing a band T-shirt and jeans. So yes, I won't lie; one of the first things I started planning when starting this was my logo & merch. I want the work I do to have a presence everywhere; it helps both myself and Dead Dead Dead in the way of promo, and it obviously helps keep things ticking over financially (as long as people like the stuff I'm hawking).
Second, now that the producing of the tee's is paid for and covered (I was lucky enough to get roped in to hosting some karaoke over the weekend, which, apart from being ALOT of fun, meant that last little bit of cash I needed to get the T-shirts printed came round), it means that all the money that comes in from the selling is free to go where it's needed. This means that everytime someone buys a T-shirt, that money will go to any number of things related to the work i'm putting in - Costs for touring bands, cd's, promoting & booking shows, promo for releases, and possibly even help towards recording costs for any of the bands I'll be working with. I'm not under any illusions, I know that selling a few tee's won't pay for the recording of an album, but if it covers the first day or two in the studio, job done, as far as I'm concerned.
Cool T-shirts are cool. Helping bands out is cool. Spend £8.50 and you get both.
http://www.deaddeaddeadmusic.bigcartel.com/
Tuesday 28 September 2010
Monday 27 September 2010
A fucking great weekend, part 1 - Gig reviews n' that
So, a fucking amazing weekend was had by all. Leeds boys (and fresh holy Roar signings) Black Mass travelled up for two shows, the Banshee Labyrinth in Edinburgh, and The Admiral Bar in Glasgow.
Edinburgh, you fucking ROCKED. Local boys Plague Vessel opened the show with some seriously brutal vox and far better guitar than you'd ever expect a vegan to play (it's a wonder he can even pick it up, to be honest). Next up were Notebooks: Heavy, fast, and everything you could want from a band. Keep your eyes peeled, they're seriously good, and hopefully I'll be working with them closely in the next few months to get their stuff out to you all.
Next up was the first special event of the evening, being the first ever show from Aberdeens Prelude To The Hunt. Made up of members from old school Edinburgh legends Zillah, Aberdeen violent hardcore hero's (and one of my favourite bands) Uncalm, these boys fucking wrecked it. Doom, Hardcore, Metal, guitars going through bass cabs and some of the best vocals you'll hear makes for something very special. Nothing online yet, and no releases, but more news about that to come very very soon, if you haven't already heard.
Special event number two? A surprise set from HUSH. The crowd fucking loved it, and even had a dude stealing the mic and doing vocals for a song or two, which was a surprise, considering no one knew they were playing. I think they should be the Banshee's house band. I may even start a petition to make it happen.
Black Mass? Fucking yass. They have one ep, have been together for like a day or something, and even with a very VERY ill vocalist, they put on a truly great, truly evil show. If you have't already checked them out, do so now. Thier online stuff isn't the best quality, but THEY are, so pick up their ep and be very happy indeed.
The night then continued with the most metal, loudest, most gang-vocal karaoke you've ever seen. It was epic.
Glasgow, you rocked also, so don't feel left out. Flags Raised get better every show, and are definitely ones to watch. Citizens are, without question, one of the best bands to come out of Glasgow EVER. They snook on to a couple of shows eariler in the week with Black Mass and Throats, so back in their hometown with BM was great to see. Three people have never sounded so epic on stage, and if you haven't checked them out already, do so now.
There'll be another update from the weekend later on in the week, got some great news coming up, not in the least the first Dead Dead Dead Music release. So come back soon.
Edinburgh, you fucking ROCKED. Local boys Plague Vessel opened the show with some seriously brutal vox and far better guitar than you'd ever expect a vegan to play (it's a wonder he can even pick it up, to be honest). Next up were Notebooks: Heavy, fast, and everything you could want from a band. Keep your eyes peeled, they're seriously good, and hopefully I'll be working with them closely in the next few months to get their stuff out to you all.
Next up was the first special event of the evening, being the first ever show from Aberdeens Prelude To The Hunt. Made up of members from old school Edinburgh legends Zillah, Aberdeen violent hardcore hero's (and one of my favourite bands) Uncalm, these boys fucking wrecked it. Doom, Hardcore, Metal, guitars going through bass cabs and some of the best vocals you'll hear makes for something very special. Nothing online yet, and no releases, but more news about that to come very very soon, if you haven't already heard.
Special event number two? A surprise set from HUSH. The crowd fucking loved it, and even had a dude stealing the mic and doing vocals for a song or two, which was a surprise, considering no one knew they were playing. I think they should be the Banshee's house band. I may even start a petition to make it happen.
Black Mass? Fucking yass. They have one ep, have been together for like a day or something, and even with a very VERY ill vocalist, they put on a truly great, truly evil show. If you have't already checked them out, do so now. Thier online stuff isn't the best quality, but THEY are, so pick up their ep and be very happy indeed.
The night then continued with the most metal, loudest, most gang-vocal karaoke you've ever seen. It was epic.
Glasgow, you rocked also, so don't feel left out. Flags Raised get better every show, and are definitely ones to watch. Citizens are, without question, one of the best bands to come out of Glasgow EVER. They snook on to a couple of shows eariler in the week with Black Mass and Throats, so back in their hometown with BM was great to see. Three people have never sounded so epic on stage, and if you haven't checked them out already, do so now.
There'll be another update from the weekend later on in the week, got some great news coming up, not in the least the first Dead Dead Dead Music release. So come back soon.
Monday 20 September 2010
Ok, so now I'm reviewing something along the lines of alt.rock, so what? At least I'm selling out for a decent record (album review)
Bull See Red
Chinatown Part 2
Lockjaw Records
The second part to Bull See Red's 'Chinatown' series, part 2 is made up of five original tracks, and two live cuts of songs from part one.
The choice to release two seperate ep's rather than one album is an odd one, and a total shame, if these were one full album rather than a pair of smaller collections, they'd have a tru alt.rock classic on their hands. This is pure, big stage rock, make no mistake, but it's also bold, fresh, and truly remarkable. Opener 'Galactica' powers off to a great start, knocking on the doors of epic, and, with no effort at all, leaves those recently famed for stadium bothering rock trailing behind, without the need for 'urgent' & 'grandiose' production (I'm looking at you, Biffy).
Although far removed from what I'll be writing about regularly (mainly stuff of the hardcore variety, or at least the fast/heavy/shouty stuff), this release needs to be heard, and, much like heavier offerings like the previously reviewed 'Widow country' from Lavotchkin, it's a mixed curse for an ep of such quality; such short track listing leaves absolutely no room for filler, and has you quite happily hitting the play button again as soon as it's over. Happily, albeit a touch begrudgingly too, as I for one would love to hear more.
Following on from the acoustic closer 'Benirras' (think something along the lines of Blur's 'tender', but with better vocals) the live offerings tacked at the end show off what they're capable of, and are far better quality recordings than you'd usually expect, which is nice; 'chinatown' itself comes over heavier than anything else here, although with a definite hint of their influences (namely Alkaline Trio), and 'Knee High genocide' keeping the grown-up, pop-punk vibe going. This is a nice little release for anyone who likes their music to be less of a challenge, and that's no bad thing, sometimes it's nice.
Chinatown Part 2
Lockjaw Records
The second part to Bull See Red's 'Chinatown' series, part 2 is made up of five original tracks, and two live cuts of songs from part one.
The choice to release two seperate ep's rather than one album is an odd one, and a total shame, if these were one full album rather than a pair of smaller collections, they'd have a tru alt.rock classic on their hands. This is pure, big stage rock, make no mistake, but it's also bold, fresh, and truly remarkable. Opener 'Galactica' powers off to a great start, knocking on the doors of epic, and, with no effort at all, leaves those recently famed for stadium bothering rock trailing behind, without the need for 'urgent' & 'grandiose' production (I'm looking at you, Biffy).
Although far removed from what I'll be writing about regularly (mainly stuff of the hardcore variety, or at least the fast/heavy/shouty stuff), this release needs to be heard, and, much like heavier offerings like the previously reviewed 'Widow country' from Lavotchkin, it's a mixed curse for an ep of such quality; such short track listing leaves absolutely no room for filler, and has you quite happily hitting the play button again as soon as it's over. Happily, albeit a touch begrudgingly too, as I for one would love to hear more.
Following on from the acoustic closer 'Benirras' (think something along the lines of Blur's 'tender', but with better vocals) the live offerings tacked at the end show off what they're capable of, and are far better quality recordings than you'd usually expect, which is nice; 'chinatown' itself comes over heavier than anything else here, although with a definite hint of their influences (namely Alkaline Trio), and 'Knee High genocide' keeping the grown-up, pop-punk vibe going. This is a nice little release for anyone who likes their music to be less of a challenge, and that's no bad thing, sometimes it's nice.
Saturday 11 September 2010
So, it turns out bands with stupid names can still be quite good. (Album Review)
Only Fumes And Corpses
Who Really Cares, What Really Lasts
Lockjaw Records
Released Sept. 13, 2010
OFAC are quite possibly doing something special. For starters they have a truly ludicrous name, they wear their influences VERY proudly on their sleeves; everything from At The Drive-In to early Green Day makes an appearance, and it's not like Ireland is famous for its hardcore scene. But, despite all of that, they really do sound pretty unique, and there's some definite quality here.
The fact that I can actually say that with a straight face is testament to what they're actually doing, I really want to take the piss, but I can't because they're music is really fucking good, and even though their influences are clear as day, early track september, with it's super-addictive bassline, could easily be an outtake from Green Day's Dookie, albeit with hoarse vocals and a nicely heavy outro, and the blood of bands like Hot Water Music and even Leatherface runs right through almost every song, mainly down to Momme Reibisch's coarse, grainy vocals and Benny McKeon's destinct pop-punk drums speeding through the entire album.
This is an album far closer to it's influence of pop-punk than it is to hardcore, but man I'd be hard-pushed not to recommend those into hardcore to give it a shout. If anything is holding it back, it's the slight feeling of repetition; something that does come often, but, fortunately, every time I actually had that feeling of "I think I've heard enough of this" a track like Apathy Resumes turns up, that quite literally pulls out the huge surprise of a big, skater thrash breakdown, and just as the aptly titled Flogging A Dead Horse got me thinking about the other stuff I could be listening to, I Need To get Out More Often follows, bringing out more of the thrash again, with riffs that wouldn't be out of place on a Trash Talk or Cruel Hand album. And I shit you not when I say there's even a touch of Ska kicking about in there too.
So, while it sails closer to hardcore influenced pop-punk that it does actual hardcore, it's definitely worth a shot. For those into breakdowns and gang-vocals it's gonna offer you a fun & refreshing take on what you're into, but how long before you start pining for those serious breakdowns is debateable, though. The real longevity of this album is for anyone at the other end of the spectrum; if you're into pop & gruff punk and are looking for something heavier to dip your toe into, you really should pick this up, it'll offer you a hell of a lot more.
Who Really Cares, What Really Lasts
Lockjaw Records
Released Sept. 13, 2010
OFAC are quite possibly doing something special. For starters they have a truly ludicrous name, they wear their influences VERY proudly on their sleeves; everything from At The Drive-In to early Green Day makes an appearance, and it's not like Ireland is famous for its hardcore scene. But, despite all of that, they really do sound pretty unique, and there's some definite quality here.
The fact that I can actually say that with a straight face is testament to what they're actually doing, I really want to take the piss, but I can't because they're music is really fucking good, and even though their influences are clear as day, early track september, with it's super-addictive bassline, could easily be an outtake from Green Day's Dookie, albeit with hoarse vocals and a nicely heavy outro, and the blood of bands like Hot Water Music and even Leatherface runs right through almost every song, mainly down to Momme Reibisch's coarse, grainy vocals and Benny McKeon's destinct pop-punk drums speeding through the entire album.
This is an album far closer to it's influence of pop-punk than it is to hardcore, but man I'd be hard-pushed not to recommend those into hardcore to give it a shout. If anything is holding it back, it's the slight feeling of repetition; something that does come often, but, fortunately, every time I actually had that feeling of "I think I've heard enough of this" a track like Apathy Resumes turns up, that quite literally pulls out the huge surprise of a big, skater thrash breakdown, and just as the aptly titled Flogging A Dead Horse got me thinking about the other stuff I could be listening to, I Need To get Out More Often follows, bringing out more of the thrash again, with riffs that wouldn't be out of place on a Trash Talk or Cruel Hand album. And I shit you not when I say there's even a touch of Ska kicking about in there too.
So, while it sails closer to hardcore influenced pop-punk that it does actual hardcore, it's definitely worth a shot. For those into breakdowns and gang-vocals it's gonna offer you a fun & refreshing take on what you're into, but how long before you start pining for those serious breakdowns is debateable, though. The real longevity of this album is for anyone at the other end of the spectrum; if you're into pop & gruff punk and are looking for something heavier to dip your toe into, you really should pick this up, it'll offer you a hell of a lot more.
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