Review by MWJ says, 'There’s a big proportion of family and friends for our host here Mr Crud and the first outing of his new band Spam Javelin. Hasn’t been long formed but with the added experience of Steve and Gwion they’ve hit the ground running, howling guitar creating a chaotic, raw feel to the pacey, rhythmic punk. With a raft of quickfire songs some stand out as better, with this productivity they’ll be able to refine their set easily. Particularly strong ones for me were “Top Knot” and “How Can You Die…”, the title track of their EP release. Bountiful swearing and humour make for a thoroughly enjoyed debut all round.'
Steve Brute - bass,voc / Neil Crud - gtr,voc / Gwion Griffiths - drms
Amazing how technology moves at a pace... From the days being a kid with a tape recorder, finger poised on the REC button, hoping John Peel would play something recordable, to today, where you can get almost EVERYTHING that's ever been recorded - ON DEMAND...
It's brilliant... Also a bit sad, as a mission to fond something you liked or wanted, was part of the fun... Ordering 7" singles from dustbin record companies for £2 (including postage)...
Of course, ordering 7" singles (or vinyl) has once again come back into fashion, and I rue the hundreds upon hundreds of vinyls I sold on eBay all those years ago (despite the filthy profit).
Vinyl has taken such an upturn that I was at a gig the other night and the merch stalls all had vinyl (even cassettes!) and no CDs - also, the bulk of the vinyls come with a unique download code, so you can listen on your iPods etc.
Music is now at your fingertips -
Minus vinyl, the pic above is a 'scrobble' on Last FM that details what I listen to thru my PC... this is what I've played in the last 7 days...
The Woggles are an amazing 60s style US garage band I heard when listening to a show called The Three Chord Monte on WFMU radio in New York. I downloaded the show in November 2007..! Such is the saturation of music, that gems do go amiss.. Seven years to get round to listening to this show, and it was only by random on the iPod. Check the WFMU website, as this weekly show is still running, and each one is archived (almost 20 years' worth) for your listening pleasure and education.
This particular show came on in the car on the way to see Converge, Okkultokrati and Martyrdod in Manchester (review) - three bands completely unknown to me and three bands, whose music I now play regularly.
Another batch of 'new' bands in my world are Fat White Family, The Growlers, The Wytches, who I saw in Liverpool last week (review). Also Hookworms who were recommended by Andy Garside, who happens to be part of Drum With Our Hands label who have released the excellent EP by Wrexham's Baby Brave (review).
I also had a hardcore night in Chester last week, with Crossburner and a host of quality acts (review), courtesy of Footloose Records (of Flint) - some great noise coming from that neat little label... (website)
And two artists regenerated and much to my own surprise and ignorance are Gary Numan and Peter Murphy, who, rather than cash in on the cabaret circuit are still out there releasing and touring new (and very good) material.
Oh... and The Holy Bible is 20 years old... the Manic Street Preachers' finest hour...
I know it's an easy and topical target but these cheating bastards are spoiling the beautiful game, it's not football it's cheatball.
The cheats who go down as if they've been shot in order to try and get an opponent sent off. Where's the sportmanship in that? Imagine going down that easy in a pub in Rhyl.!! No ref to protect you there you fucking ponce...
When will something be done about this?
A one match ban? Pants pulled down in public? Made to wear a ballerina skirt and pop socks?
Can we not kneecap those guilty?
And while we're at it let's stop all substitutions on 85 minutes...
Did you know that when Motorway Services first began springing up in the 1960s, they were considered a place to take your loved one for a romantic meal..!!
How things have changed...
Now they are RIP OFF cattle markets where EVERYTHING IS AT LEAST 50% MORE EXPENSIVE THAN ANYWHERE IN THE WHOLE FUCKING WORLD...!!!!
You are the captive audience, you've driven for hours, you're tired, the kids are hungry - you stop at Knutsford Services, and the faceless fuckers empty your purse, steal your wallet and rip the shirt off your back.
In future plan your journey - living is expensive anyway without being blatantly ripped off by these cunts - fill up before leaving, make snacks, bring plenty of drinks and by all means use the services facilities that are free, like the rest area. And if you have to pay to use the toilet make sure you break something while you're in there....
Last week we did Marchlyn Bach - This week we did Marchlyn Mawr - a good, not too taxing walk - takes about 3 hours..
Built to feed the Dinorwic Power Station, the lake itself lies in between two mountains Carnedd y Fillast and Elidir Fawr and lies at a height of 636m above sea level and the reservoir took four years to build (from 1975-1979).
From the reservoir, a 34 ft diameter tunnel runs for a mile to a 33ft diameter vertical shaft. From the bottom of the shaft, a 31ft diameter tunnel leads to the power station, 670 metres away.
Thought I'd use the thirteenth day to raise the touch(wood)y subject of superstition...
Please, someone explain how breaking a mirror is gonna give me seven years bad luck when my whole life has been nothing but bad luck?
How is seeing two magpies gonna give me joy...
On my thirteenth birthday, I was given some lucky heather and a rabbit's foot, it was a Friday, I walked under a ladder and a mirror smashed over my head, as I lay on the floor a black cat scratched my face and a magpie shat on me.
I heard my Doctor was buried the other day. He was not much older than me and a really nice, genuine guy.
When I say my Doctor, or GP if you like, I'd not seen him for 15 years - you see, he was so good that none of his patients were ever ill!!
Dr Alexander wasn't your usual 'Oh it's a virus' type quack, who'd fob you off with some placebo. No, he'd sit, he'd listen and if he could do something to help you he would.
He instigated my first course of tattoo removal on the NHS, we swapped tales of festivals and swapped punk rock music. He diagnosed my 2-year old daughter's ongoing 'cough' as an ear problem, which an operation resolved. He also cut off my ex's ears!! :)
So when I received a text to say he had died, it stopped me in my tracks... Gutted..
It's not so much The Jeremy Kyle Show I can't stand, (although it does influence the simple minded, brain dead portion of our population), it's the underclass of human being that has been exposed in this country.
The type with neck tattoos, trackies, rotten teeth, addictions, benefits, jail terms...
The type of person who would not think twice about robbing your gran.
All borne out of our modern day society, and taking full advantage of it at the expense of others.. And I don't mean the tax payer, I mean the people's lives they make a misery, like their neighbours, their classmates (if they actually go to school), the cars and homes they rob...
Basically the type that shouldn't breed... Wankers.
Paul Whitehouse was a bit of a hero to me. He was the brains behind Harry Enfield's rise to stardom, and I loved every second of The Fast Show...
Now I know we all have bills to pay and I don't begrudge anyone working for a living, but there is something CRINGEWORTHINGLY SHIT about Whitehouse in those bollockingly crap Aviva Insurance adverts...
Actually, EVERY fucking insurance ad is bollockingly crap, but we'll save that for another day...
I'm gonna invent an App that can filter out Cats from social media...
If I wanted to look at a cat sleeping, eating, playing or shitting I'd sign up to pussyporn.com - I don't need to know that your fucking cat is stalking a poor innocent bird in the garden... IT'S A CAT... THAT'S WHAT THEY DO..!!!
Ever wondered what that odd smell from behind the telly is? That's cat piss. That's because your cat HATES YOU REALLY, you're just a convenience.
Just remember, if it was any bigger it would eat you regardless of how many cute pictures you plastered the internet with it.
Hey! We all like attention and I use Facebook as a platform to spam (ha!) you my link2wales website - all in the name of music...
Why do people post 'I've had enough of this..!' on facebook in order to get a deluge of 'U ok hun xxx?' replies..?
Well, for attention of course...
And of course the other cringe-worthy cases are where you watch someone's relationship break down before your very eyes, word for word, blow by blow...
There's a place for dirty washing and it ain't in public...
I just don't get it... Are there still numbskull morons who actually click on a link from an unsolicited email promising them a 12" dick, a mountain of viagra and 30 squillion quid in their bank accounts? And if there isn't, then why the fuck are these pieces of crap spams still sent in their droves?
What's even worse are the fake accounts that try to infiltrate Facebook groups to sell you Ray Ban Sunglasses (who in the UK ever sees sunshine??).
I've got a nifty spam blocker for my own link2wales website, without it, the site wouldn't exist, as in three years it's been hit nearly 350,000 times with shit comments like this, 'I really appreciate this post. I’ve been looking all over for this! Thank goodness I found it on Bing. You have made my day! Thx again' and a link to some oral fucking jelly or something stupid like that. Thankfully, the blocker keeps it all out.
I would love to meet a spammer, just 15 minutes of me and them in a locked room would suffice... (prick)
Sometimes I think I hate tribute acts more than life itself...
The world has become a sorry place where the cocks and the tarts who wouldn't even know what a 'local' band was, will happily pay £20 to WATCH A FUCKING LIMP DICKED BUNCH OF CUNTS pretending to be their heroes on stage... And what's worse... Getting paid for doing it..!
There are a couple who do it as it should be done, such as Gabba Abba Hey, who are an Abba tribute act playing the songs in a Ramones style.. Now that's neat. And I know some who go out as a tribute act to fund their real band, which is sad, but true...
But nobbers like Noasis, King Ov Leon, Black Market Clash, Sex Pistols Experience, Machine Gun Etiquette take the place of real bands, who play real and original music (wankers). It's a sorry state of affairs that the only way venues, promoters and bars can survive is to put on such crap to pull in the arseholes willing to pay to see it. Fuck Off..!!!!
Supermarkets are the scourge of the small entrepreneur. I despise them with a passion... Big corporate bastards sucking the life and soul out of EVERY town in the country.
Most High Streets are now paved with Tanning Salons, Nail Salons, Hairdressers, Dentists, Kebab Houses, Tattoo Artists and boarded up shops.
Nearly every bakery, fishmonger, butcher, fruit 'n' veg shop has been forced out of business by the huge corporate bullies that are supermarkets.
And mark my words.. It won't be long before you can get your nails done in Tesco, have a dental check-up in Asda, get your car MOT'd in Sainsburys and a fucking tattoo in Morrisons...
I visit supermarkets very often to pick up their Reduced items. Tonight I picked up tea, lunch and dinner for a whopping total of 60p, as for buying anything else they make it so hard... Where can I buy fish without using a boat?
Here's a point though... Tesco's 'reduced nearly out of date' fruit and veg is still more expensive than Lidl and Aldi's very fresh and in-date produce. (bastards).
I've seen so many people attempt #100HappyDays and to many extents it has proved to be good for their souls - or they're kidding themselves.
So I thought I'd try and vent my spleen with a HUNDRED DAYS OF SHIT...
ForDAY 1: I hate anyone who drives a Toyota Yaris... Wankers
I only use the Yaris as I was behind some fossilised shit driving one today through Colwyn Bay at FIFTEEN MILES AN HOUR, who proceeded to brake at every corner...
Without getting all Jeremy Clarkson on you, and I know it's stereotypical, but you can quite often guess who's behind the wheel by the car they drive. Eg; Nissan Note - the name says it all... I mean, a Nissan Note... What wanker buys a car called a Nissan Note? A Roundabout Wanker, that's who...
The Cardiff Zine Fair held on Saturday, March 29, 2014, served as a landmark gathering for the city's self-publishing and radical communities. Hosted at the artist-led gallery g39 in Roath, the event was organized as part of the broader "It’s the Engels of the world as we know it (and we feel fine)" series, which combined an artist book fair with radical political outreach.
The fair acted as a vital intersection for Cardiff's contemporary activist scene and its deep-rooted punk heritage, featuring a diverse array of stalls that ranged from beautifully crafted artist books to raw, photocopied political pamphlets.
This 2014 edition is often cited as a pivotal moment that solidified the local zine community, bridging the gap between the experimental art school crowds and the grassroots anarchist organizers who had been active at spaces like the Red & Black Umbrella.
This year's installment of the wonderful Gwyl Gardd Goll festival with artists such as British Sea Power, Sue Denim, Georgia Ruth, We Are Animal, Radio Rhydd, Bill Ryder-Jones and many more See links for reviews and great pics
Not being the type of band who'll play the trodden boards and preach to the converted, we dipped our toes into the Mod World at this Scooter Rally. The weather wasn't too friendly - it is June after all, so why put festivals on in the rain season!?
We seem to have a lot of fun playing gigs we shouldn't really be playing, be they folk festivals, metal nights, or scooter rallies. Gwyn (Tudno FM extreme metal DJ) was being pimped out by John Bowden to do the sound, so we knew we were in safe hands, and being the first band on we had the lion's share of soundchecking.
All was well until about 7pm (an hour before stage time), when veteran Mod band The Lambrettas were moved from the main stage due to technical difficulties (ie, no lights!), so they asked if they could do a 'quick soundcheck' before we went on - this did mean moving our kit and gear, so the 'quick soundcheck' did take over an hour. Still, they sounded good and being the only other real band playing tonight we felt a kinship with them; our stand together against the 'enemy' - Tribute Acts. I hate tribute bands... They should all be shot for crimes against music.
We did ask The Lambrettas if we could use their £8000 drum kit... It was a straight 'No' from their drummer and he didn't see a hint of amusement when we said we'd dive on it at the end of our set (miserable tosser).
It's ace playing to kids, they have no inhibitions; unlike grown-ups who need alcohol to release their shackles, and young Isabelle pictured here is going to form a band called The Heroes. We did try to coax young Brooklyn who was watching with his mod grandfather to join her band too.
So in front of assorted scooter boys and girls we ploughed into our 35 minutes of hot, very sweaty fun...
Set list - we didn't play Gone Fishin' or Poison By Rancid.
After enjoying Braxton Hicks’ performance at The North, I simply had to pick up their latest release, The Bench EP. Priced at a very reasonable £2, meaning you’re only paying 50p per song, so you really are getting a lot for your money. Admittedly, this CD doesn’t quite capture the energy and enthusiasm that this band showed in a live environment, but it is a good and solid mix of songs.
Opening track Gone Fishin’ is a poignant tribute to their friend Johnny Williams, who the EP is dedicated to the memory of. The song is a little repetitive in parts, but the lyrics are beautiful and you can really tell they were written from the heart. It then leads well into the second track, Poison By Rancid. It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of short songs, and this is just that – at just over one and a half minutes long, it’s a perfectly punctuated and frantic song that hits hard and fast.
Third track This Song Was Never Written isn’t one of the more standout songs. Whilst it is a good track, it almost feels a little like a mixture of the other three tracks, so it subsequently blended into the background a little, which was a shame. Closing track Depressing/Scream It Out finishes things on a high, however. A catchy little number, it had my foot tapping along from start to finish, and the way the song ends with only vocals was a nice touch.
Overall, The Bench EP is a pretty good release that is full of potential. If you like your punk, you’ll love this, but don’t go in expecting anything completely different.
Yeah, I know, you’ve heard the name. I’m not saying we don’t have history, or at least I don’t have history with Braxton Hicks. I’ve known lead singer Joe Hovis (think about it) for years, and recently he agreed to be our man looking after punk (and maybe even hardcore) for Backseat Mafia. But this is no kiss-ass payment for future services rendered. I was going to give Braxton Hicks a look in anyway.
Coming up to being a year old (Joe having put an advert out in July 2012) the North Wales three-piece, Joe being joined by Neil Crud (ex-Sons of Selina) on bass and drummer Gwion, have been out and about all over north wales and beyond honing their skills, and playing with legends such as UK Subs and Goldblade along the way.
Following on from their debut ep ‘The Bench’ comes recently released ‘The Bench’ EP, which came out on the Link2Wales label. Opening track Gone Fishin’ is instantly reminiscent of the DIY classic punk groups from the beginning of Punk, almost TV Personalities in its charm, although the shadow of NoFX and indeed the UK Subs, as well as the ghost of Welsh punk of the past (Anhrefn et al)
Second track on the EP is a case in point, the song being Poison by Rancid. No, not a cover – more a eulogy to that song, Hovis saying ‘makes me glad I don’t waste any more years / on you scumbags I thought we were close / Poison by Rancid just sums it all up’. It’s shows that Hovis’ voice can change gear to all sneering, grating punk front man, and the band add an appropriately enthusiastic racket (and I mean that in a good way) underneath.
This Song was never written carries on at a furious pace, this punk esthetic not getting in the way of what are actually deeply personal lyrics ‘I’ve never written a love song and this one won’t be the first’ sings Hovis, before taking us around the houses of saying just about everything but the dreaded ‘L’ word. The music, though simple, drives on, its catchiness taking the listen along with it for the ride.
The final track on the ep is ‘Depression / Scream it out’, revisiting theme’s that appeared in the first ep as well. It’s classic punk riffs mean that you can almost guess what is coming, but it’s the personal (or at least Hovis putting himself in the state of mind) lyrics ‘Depression breaks inside of me / I wanna sleep 20 hours a day / Can’t bring myself to shower or shave / and I feel nothing when I see a woman’s body’ sings Hovis. Although the track is short, in true punk style, for us its the strongest and most musically ambitious track on the ep.
Yeah, its straight up punk, classic style, which we’ve all heard before. But its catchy, interesting and what sets it apart is Hovis himself, his persona and particularly lyrically, stretching his band beyond the usual punk subject matter. Buy it, yes kiss ass? Well, not yet.
We played a fun packed night at The Skerries in Bangor tonight with the very excellent Atlas Will Atone and Psycodeth.
Good crowd, good laugh, Neil managed to snap his guitar cable clean off, Joe managed to finish Never Kill Yourself in the wrong key, lucky Gwion was there to hold it all together!
Paul of Bryce Amps not only brought his Teprha 1x12 amp for us to try out (again), he also snapped this footage of our final song Get Outta My Head.
In the sanitised mainstream music scene we all live in, where every band the NME shovels your way has been through the bleaching process to ensure they’re ‘genuinely nice guys’ and their record label / publisher / plugger is paying the magazine and BBC plenty of cash to get coverage, it’s heartwarming to know there’s still an element of real danger out there.
Of course the NME wouldn’t dare get near Teenage Mafia for fear of being killed, maimed, or (more likely) have large objects rammed up their arses. If Teenage Mafia suddenly became backed by some media mogul or some label splashing the cash, then the NME wouldn’t dare slag them off for fear of losing the one thing they care about – ADVERTISING REVENUE – it’s a sorry shadow of itself these days that rag. Yes, we used to hate it years ago, but it was for exactly the opposite reason; because they slagged off shit to high heaven! The hacks / journos / critics / wankers were hated by the readers (and yet loved all the same) as they’d rip a band to pieces, particularly any band they’d built up themselves that had made it big. Today, their journalism is governed by advertising – they’d dare not slag off Alan McGee’s new label even if it is shit, for fear of losing out on the potential revenue. They review X-Factor wank because the Cowell pays big dollars, it’s all about the Money Honey and fuck all about the Art. It’s just like local shite radio stations like Heart FM, they’d never sanction an ‘alternative’ music show because Andy’s Fucking Tyres of Prestatyn is highly unlikely to want his products and service associated with Nine Inch Nails [there’s a pun in there..!!].
Pseudo-Masochism is basically Damir Bojanic, that axe-wielding homicidal maniac from Klaus Kinski, which is no longer a band but a stable full of 5-legged retard horse-humans that piss on each other. There’s so much output from their association that it’s hard to keep up (Irma Vep, Sex Hands, Pussycat Dolls, Dog Legs).
‘It’s more punk orientated these days,’ claims Damir, and on hearing the opening track Holy Landfill, you’d quite possibly agree, but he’s talking bollocks, as there on this goes beyond punk and slips into that Klaus cesspit of orgy-doom, where they have sex with household objects and snort chicken bones. There’s 21 tracks on this masterpiece of shit and only 5 of them are over two minutes long. You get random acts of violence with Octodad, Satan is Vegan. You get neo-fascist jazz with I’m Friends With Dick Laurent and you do get a blast of excellent pure punk rock with (Verb) Your Own (Expletive) (Noun).
The background to the album is as Damir explains, ‘I basically get dreams telling me what to do and this specific dream was a horse showing me my next album and it was called Teenage Mafia and had me screaming and playing drums which is something I can’t do. So I went in and recorded 20 drum tracks without really playing drums before and then did all the guitars the same day vocals the next day. I suppose it’s my subconscious telling me I can do it? I dunno. All in all I think it was done in under 56 hours.’
If you like your music fucking mental, deranged, over the top, immediate, beserk, twisted, irrational, demented, frantic, unhinged and ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL, then Pseudo-Masochism by Teenage Mafia is the album for you…
If you don’t like your music like that then buy the NME, listen to Coldplay and get the fuck off my website.
Inferno, Bad Dog, Braxton Hicks, Jed is Dead, I Fight Lions
Dinosaur Garden didn't show up, and were meant to provide a drumkit. It turned out to be a good thing really as 6 bands was far too many for one gig, and Inferno had their set cut short anyway as time was running out (1.20am).
This was the launch night of our new EP 'The Bench' - we sold 9 copies, which, by our standards is pretty impressive - was a good turn out too...
We were a bit worse for wear due to the evil drink. Gwion was out on the town on a HMV staff party, so he turned up 20 minutes before we were due on.
Sound was poor due to karaoke mics. Lots of good banter between songs lots of interaction between band and audience - good fun..., oh and Neil bit Joe's arm.
Set list.. Macho Man / I Don't Wanna Be You / Depression / I Won't Take The Blame / Depend On You / This Song Was Never Written / Never Kill Yourself / All In / Gone Fishin' / Poison By Rancid
We were supposed to open with a new track Belly's Gonna Getcha but because our rehearsal room had been double booked, we took the safe option and did Macho Man instead. Did play 2 new tracks Depend On You and All In which we played ok. Funny not playing Government To Be and Get Outta My Head.
Neil and Joe went to a party in Tregarth afterwards where Slayer, Hendrix and AC/DC was played at maximum volume... Joe finished the evening hugging Neil's toilet...
Joe wrote this on our facebook page... 'Great
gig last night in Bangor and fantastic audience (until you started
chanting 'Weasley! Weasley! Weasley!' at me....bastards.) You know its
been a good night when you wake up hugging the toilet bowl and lying on
Neil Crud's bathroom floor completely unable to move! great times. We
flogged 9 EPs last night, hope you enjoy it (its like hearing us play
live but better.....) Hope the guys that lost their jobs at HMV get one
soon, in the mean time Gwion says he'll share his wage packet with you
all.'
The Bench EP only came out today but its already making children violent..!!
This 4 tracker is the follow up to last December’s debut ‘Never Kill
Yourself EP’ on Secrets of Sound Records and pays homage to the bench
where the band’s (and this site) friend, Johnny Williams would while
away the hours fishing.
Featuring 4 tracks – Gone Fishin’ / Poison By Rancid / This Song Was Never Written / Depression-Scream It Out.
Available on CD copy for £2.50 (inc p+p) by clicking this link
L2W 002
When I formed Braxton Hicks, I made the
conscious decision not to be a political band. Now that doesn't mean
ignoring it completely, but i wanted to focus the band on having a laugh
and enjoying a few beers. Plus I don't know enough about politics for
us to be political and there are 100's of bands already doing it (not
knocking them, in fact some of my favorites are bands of this ilk!) but
having watched this documentary on Monday night I felt I couldn't just
sit back and not say anything.
I have tried to watch documentaries about the Hillsborough disaster
before, but have found them too upsetting and had to turn them off but i
made myself watch this one. I was shocked. I was only 9 months old when
it happened and I had never appreciated the size and impact that day
had on so many lives. My words can not do it justice the damage that had
been done on that day And this is before I talk about the police and
government cover up.
If corrupt policemen and government
employees can cover up an incident that happened on national television,
with thousands of football fans as witnesses, what can they/do they
cover up in private? It's sick.
I don't care if you don't
support Liverpool FC, hate Liverpool FC or can not stand football in
general that is irrelevant, you must watch this.
If you didn't see the documentary please click on this link.
Once you've watched it, please sign this petition to get the Chief
scumbags knighthood removed. That seems like nothing locking him up
would be the answer.
LINE UP - Vermin Suicides, Braxton Hicks, Toby Parker & The Suitcase
(from Crud Blog) - It’s a shame I have review my own gigs!! But I guess most people are lost for words after seeing Braxton Hicks
(ha ha!). We turned up at what is essentially a cool / studenty /
place-to-be-seen cafe, that transforms into a venue, with stage, lights,
great sound and brilliant vibe. Couldn’t hear a fucking thing during
the first song, and Bentham was quick to realise and got the engineer to
throb my bass up in the monitors. Joe & Gwion thought we played
well, crowd did so too, so I guess it was a good performance. Nice to
see Phil Newall endure us again, also Hockey & Richie (Bite Back), that dude from Dead Class and Carl Gintis (Wobbly Hearts) amongst the crowd. Set list – Government
To Be / I Don’t Wanna Be You / Get Outta My Head / Macho Man / Song Was
Never Written / I Won’t Take The Blame / Poison By Rancid / Gone
Fishin’ / Never Kill Yourself.
(from Crud blog) - It was organised by Bangor Youth Group, who, in hindsight may not have
allowed us to play because of said references and smuggled Port, but
without people like themselves who dedicate their time and efforts for
the greater good and not for profit then the world would be a far worse
off place.
We played our usual 25 minutes, and
like BYG, offered our services and effort at our own expense for the
greater good. Joe was on top form despite breaking a string and despite
not being able to hear each other I guess we did okay – they seemed to
like us, and the kids who got up with their guitars at the Open Mic
Session beforehand put our abilities to shame. The difference being, we
are up there playing as a band, playing our own songs, which have been
released and played on national radio, we’ve got ourselves on the covers
of national magazines, we’ve supported ‘name’ bands. That is by no
means bragging… That is quite simply stating that a band with our
limited capabilities can go out there and get our name in small print on
the poster, and time and time again it shows that it’s the bands/people
with drive that get somewhere. Britain may very well have talent, but
it’s up to you to see beyond a panel of arrogant sneering judges and
make a name for yourselves. It’s your decision… ours was to be an
unambitious punk band, I think our job is done on that front, and I’m
now quite happy to take up Anhrefn’s sub-manifesto.
There was a bit of 'afters' a day later when we received a message from BYGS...
'we hope you all enjoyed playing tonight. We had expected a bigger
turnout,but exams have just begun so I guess some stayed away because of
that. Thanks very much for playing. We appreciate your time.
Unfortunately though you put us in a bit of an uncomfortable position -
with all the swearing and reference to drugs etc (I really hope I'm not
going to have to answer to anyone about it)...and the empty bottle of
port didn't go down too well when the member of staff found it in the
toilets either...
We are a volunteer group that are trying to
establish youth events in Bangor and to shine a positive light on young
people. So far we have a really good relationship and level of trust
with the community and we work hard to maintain a 'clean' image and to
sustain the ethos of the venues we use e.g Blue Sky Cafe.
That aside, I can say that we all really enjoyed your set - you're very talented and you have a great stage presence.
I think the guys (Loui Bryn and Jonny) are really keen to invite you to some of the over 18 gigs they organise. All the best with the rest of your gigs.'
Joe replied, 'Apologies i did mean to move that bottle of port from the toilet, but
forgot about it.... I wasn't being a rebel without a cause, port
genuinely helps my voice and at the gigs where i havent drunk it I've
lost my voice mid set! we tryed our best not to swear and did apologize
where we could, as you can imagine we are not used to playing to under
18s! We censored a few of our lyrics too... but I can imagine they hear
far worse language in the playground. We hate drugs and never use them
or advocate anyone to use them. I would hate to think that we would ever
get you shut down, if that is the case I would be happy to fight your
corner and will take full responsibility for any offense we caused on
the evening. Other than that glad you liked our set and hope we can play
again in the future, to under or over 18's!'
And BYGS replied, 'Thanks very much for your message. I'm sure there won't be any come back
at all, but I wanted to highlight it -just because we were put in a bit
of an awkward position once you'd gone - I mean you did make reference
to Speed and the port you'd drunk too much of.you're right the children
will have heard (and used) much worse language before. I appreciate you
did make the effort and thanks for cencoring your lyrics!its just, I
have to maintain the aims and objectives of the youth group in any night
we put on - we sometimes have people of interest drop in on our nights
to see how they're going.
Thanks very much for your apology, it's appreciated and accepted wholeheartedly.
You guys'll do really well (can't believe you've only been going for
6months) - a good number of people turned up solely to see you play last
night (even in a cafe!) which was ace.'
Set list.. Macho Man / I Don't Wanna Be You / Depression / I Won't Take The Blame / Depend On You / This Song Was Never Written / Never Kill Yourself / All In / Gone Fishin' / Poison By Rancid
(from Crud Blog) - It’s a shame I have review my own gigs!! But I guess most people are lost for words after seeing Braxton Hicks
(ha ha!). We turned up at what is essentially a cool / studenty /
place-to-be-seen cafe, that transforms into a venue, with stage, lights,
great sound and brilliant vibe. Couldn’t hear a fucking thing during
the first song, and Bentham was quick to realise and got the engineer to
throb my bass up in the monitors. Joe & Gwion thought we played
well, crowd did so too, so I guess it was a good performance. Nice to
see Phil Newall endure us again, also Hockey & Richie (Bite Back), that dude from Dead Class and Carl Gintis (Wobbly Hearts) amongst the crowd. Set list – Government
To Be / I Don’t Wanna Be You / Get Outta My Head / Macho Man / Song Was
Never Written / I Won’t Take The Blame / Poison By Rancid / Gone
Fishin’ / Never Kill Yourself.
Thanks very much for playing. We appreciate your time.
Unfortunately though you put us in a bit of an uncomfortable position -
with all the swearing and reference to drugs etc (I really hope I'm not
going to have to answer to anyone about it)...and the empty bottle of
port didn't go down too well when the member of staff found it in the
toilets either...
