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Lucky Beaches – Pink Champagne

Lucky Beaches, an artist from Liverpool, UK, has released his new single "Pink Champagne" to the world. The song combines blues rock vocals with guitars reminescent of Queens of the Stone Age or other early 90s rock bands. Fuzz pedals. Fuzz pedals, everywhere. Toss in some tight and punchy drums with a driving 4/4 beat, and you have Pink Champagne.

Taking a listen to Lucky Beaches' other singles, the blues-rock theme continues, and is quite appealing. On songs like "Go It Alone" you can distinctly hear the British accent, which sounds almost Beatles-esque when combined with a slap delay (perhaps done on purpose?). I am most certainly interested in hearing more from Lucky Beaches, and hopefuly you are, too! I expect great things to come from this artist.

Lucky Beaches – Pink Champagne song info

You can buy "Pink Champagne" on iTunes, or stream it on Spotify. Find Lucky Beaches on his website, Facebook, and Twitter.

Sleep On It Hit Home with “Lost Along the Way”

On October 21st, Sleep On It released their third EP Lost Along the Way. This new release followed up 2015’s Safe Again and 2014’s Everything, All at Once. Earlier this year, the band welcomed new vocalist Zech Pluister by releasing the single “Burning at Both Ends”. Pluister’s vocals are much stronger than those of the band’s original vocalist, ditching a whiny pop punk sound for gruff yet melodic and powerful vocals.

Soon thereafter, Sleep On It announced that they were signed by Equal Vision Records, leading up to the release of Lost Along the Way. Starting with the first few bars of “Counting Miles”, you can hear that the production values have improved tenfold over the band’s self-released music. The mix is full, with solid low end, tight bass and drums, and beautiful sounding guitars.

Another bright point to note is that the vocal arrangement is exquisite. Dueling vocals, harmonies, and powerful doubling are all used appropriately throughout the EP to highlight the lyrics in key parts of the songs.

Guitarists TJ Horansky and Jake Marquis compliment each other well, each providing a solid midrange over bassist AJ Khah and drummer Luka Fischman’s tight rhythm section. Before Pluister joined the band, the foundation was there… The band was only lacking the final element to tie the pieces together and provide the final touch.

While “Counting Miles” and “With Friends Like You, Who Needs Friends?” kick off the EP with high energy anthemic choruses, “See You Around” takes a turn and shows the band’s more sensitive side. The song seems to discuss mistakes the band have made in their personal lives, which can be seen in “your silence is so loud, there’s a buzz in my head from what you never said. I’ll be seeing you around. . . I know that you’ll never let this go.”

At first, “Unspoken” seems to be going the same way as “See You Around”, but one quickly realized that the song is more introspective, reflecting on inner peace and battling one’s demons or losing oneself. I can safely say these are some of the best lyrics I have heard in a pop punk song in a very long time.

“Let Me Go” is a strong song, but production wise seems a bit rushed. Overall it is still extremely well done, but certain elements in the mix don’t sit quite right. The vocal transition from intro to first verse and pumping guitars which distract from the listening experience come to mind, as well as the key change at the three minute mark. The band might have been better off dropping the fifth song and letting the EP stand on its first four well produced "legs".

Sleep On It – Lost Along the Way album info

Overall, Lost Along the Way is an extremely well done EP, and I highly recommend it. It is available now on iTunes, Spotify, Apple Music, and more. You can visit the band’s website or follow them on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

I Fight Fail Offer Self-Reflective Escape from Reality with New EP

Following up their debut EP “Move Me”, Ohio-based band I Fight Fail released their second EP “Voyages and Vantage Points” in early October.

I was immediately intrigued by the first track, titled after the EP, and presented as a spoken word piece. Its bold message forced me to sit back and reflect upon its themes of mankind, the history of our planet, and existentialism.

The second track, “Are You Okay”, hit me with a feeling of familiarity as soon as the first notes struck. A glamorous space-rock piece reminiscent of the early days of The Killers, I couldn’t help but move to the beat. The upbeat instrumentals, although simple, created a very positive atmosphere to the entire song. Paired with vocalist Andy Potter’s rhythmically driven melodies and harmonies, this song was a very, very strong start to what shaped up to be a very solid EP.

This theme was to follow throughout the entire EP. Upbeat, space-pop rock anthems that presented me with mental images of stadiums filled with screaming fans, confetti, and incredible light displays. The lyrics, while simple, manage to create a haunting vibe to each song, in a way that reminds me of X Ambassadors. While there are no real soul-grabbing lines delivered on this EP, there are a few that have resonated with me, such as “Do you believe in anything at all?” (from Anything At All, track 3). Musically, I was repeatedly impressed with the distinction of each instrument, and I was particularly impressed with drummer Anthony Carter. While simple, the atmospheric sensation provided by each song allows for it, and the simplicity was definitely the most appropriate approach to these songs.

If you’re looking for music that will tear your heart out with soul-wrenching lyrics, or will blow you away with musical intricacy and technicalities, you won’t find it here. What you will find is a six-song EP that gets you up and dancing throughout the entire piece, makes you feel good, and leaves you satisfied as the final song comes to a close.

I Fight Fail – Move Me album info

Move Me is available now on iTunes, Spotify, and Amazon.

Written by Josh Lowe.

Casey – Love Is Not Enough

Casey are a UK, Wales to be specific, based band, 5 members strong and creating their own path since 2014. Last month their debut album Love Is Not Enough was released through Hassle Records so start digging those crates to find your copy. According to them Casey serves as a vehicle for self expression and that's exactly what Love Is Not Enough revolves around. Expressing your deepest emotions and thoughts through the medium of music. Musically Casey is influenced by bands such as Pianos Become The Teeth, Touche Amore, Defeater,… so heartfelt lyrics, numerous breaks and melody are key on this release. Where Casey sets the difference is their floating shoegaze that leads the tracks to a higher level. If you're fond of the more introspective type of music then Casey is one to look out for, coming to a stage near you soon. Mark my words. 

Burn It Up Brings the Heat on “Toys”

Just two years short of entering their third decade as a band, Burn It Up (formerly known as Mrs. Skannotto) have released their first record under the new moniker, titled Toys.

The introductory track, “101”, sets a dark and spooky tone for the record. Though it is milder throughout the rest of the record, this tone does make reappearances. Vocalist Joe Harmon’s vocals start off strong, and that doesn’t change at all later in the record. The driving beat of “Fire Man” comes next and introduces the listener to the other side of Burn It Up.

Throughout the tight and punchy rhythm section held down by drummer Alex Bochetto and bassist Dan Carter drives the music forward during songs such as “Fire Man”, “Affluenza”, and “Don’t Drink the Wine”. Meanwhile, they are accomoanied by technical guitar playing brought to you by Mike Frederick, highlighted in “Affluenza”, “Name”, “Time Capsule Overdose”, and the closing track (featuring a jazzy intro), “Resistance is Fatal”.

Justin Lloyd on trumpet and Evan Dobbins on trombone round out the lineup of Burn It Up, and you can hear their talents especially well in “Grow” and “Fire Man”.

Burn It Up – Toys album info

If you’ve never heard of Burn It Up (or Mrs. Skannotto), but you like ska punk, pop rock, or reggae, you will like Toys. The band’s arrangement shows that they have been creating music as a unit for years and work well both individually and with each other. Toys is available for purchase now and streaming on Spotify and Apple Music.

Stick To Your Guns

Stick To Your Guns is currently one of the most popular bands out there. With more than ten years and five full albums in their repertoire, they finally came out with their first EP 'Better Ash Than Dust'. A new gem filled with no bullshit lyrics and blasting guitars. A proper hardcore EP if you'd ask us. We talked with Josh James (guitarist) and George Schmitz (drummer) about their new release, their growth and the issues that they have with the world.

 

How did the tour go so far?

Josh:
[Laughs] Well we are very deep into it. We played one show and that one was last night in Paris. It was good. We played in a circus tent, which seems appropriate for our band to play in. So yeah, it started last night with Bury Tomorrow, Stick To Your Guns and Architects. Tonight there is no Bury Tomorrow or Architects, so it is off to a great start. It is day two and we were kicked off the tour. So yeah, nothing much to say about that.

 

Today, was actually a day off for you guys. Why play an extra show on this day off?

Josh:
Me personally, I am just not a fan of the day off.
George:
When it is four weeks into the tour, I'm like "finally I can rest".
Josh:
Exactly I agree with that, but the second day of the tour is just stupid. I just flew in from California to Europe, I just want to play shows. We are not here to dick around, we are here to play music. So to fly in, play one show and then go on a day off, that is just dumb. We have other days off, of course, but all those days off are for traveling purpose. Because if you have to go from somewhere in Scandinavia to Hamburg or something, that takes time.
George:
Yeah and those really make sense, but if you only have to drive a couple of hours to the next one it is like "meh".

 

How does the traveling go?

Josh:
Us and Bury Tomorrow are on the same bus on this tour. When we have a traveling day, after we played the show, we leave like at 03:00 in the morning and probably drive like ten hours until the driver needs to take his break. Then we probably hang around in that city for lunch and after the break we drive another ten hours or whatever it is, go to sleep and wake up at the place we need to play the show.

 

Doesn't this become a drag?

Josh:
It is always a drag… No, sometimes it is and sometimes it isn't.
George:
Yeah, it is a touch and go thing. You always have those days that you're like "wow, this is fucking miserable".

 

You must get sick of each other.

Josh:
Surprisingly, out of all the bands I've played in, Stick To Your Guns is the most healthy functioning band. There is really not that many arguments. Obviously, you are going to get irritated at some point, but it doesn't seem to go as quickly with people in the band. It does make touring a lot easier. To me, when I get at day 20, for some reason there is something about day 20 that I just check out. Obviously that is a challenge when it is a 40-day tour. You don't get that much "alone" time on tour, so for me that is the point when I try to separate myself from everyone else. Just that I don't lose my mind for the rest of the tour. I remember the last tour we had in the States that I woke up and thought "I need to get the fuck out of here". Then I looked on the tour passes and said: "Today is day 20! This is fucking happening!" So that day I just went off by myself and spend the whole day on my own. I just showed up like 10 minutes before we played and the next day I was back to normal, so great. You just need some alone time, at least for me personally, that is important. I used to bring like a real camera on tour and take pictures or like film stuff. It is always cool, especially like coming to Europe for a city like Paris. Even if I've been in a city like twenty times, there are always parts that I've never seen, gone to or experienced before. So like yesterday we played in Paris right next to a park, so I spend like two hours there just taking pictures and sending them to my girlfriend and stuff. It is just cool to do and it is also cool later for whenever I'm bored, I go and take a look at some pictures.

 

You guys just released a new EP 'Better Ash Than Dust'. Why an EP and not a full album?

George:
Well, we hadn't done an EP, so that was one of those boxes to check off. Also it was something that started when we were in between record labels. We thought we would just front the money, up front, and do an EP ourselves. That way we were free to do whatever we want and we were not tied down by a label, but it turned into something that Pure Noise Records was like "we'll put it out".

 

So it started out as a self funded thing?

Josh:
That was the initial idea and that was also the reason why we did an EP, because in theory it is half the cost of a full length album. But Pure Noise wanted to put it out so we were like "right, ok then" [laughs]. When you think about Disobedient (red. previous album), even it is only been out for a year and a half, we recorded it two and a half years ago. So when it came out we were already been sitting on those songs for a year. It was already boring to us. So there was this thing internally, where we felt the need to write new music, even though Disobedient wasn't that old for people that listen to our band, but for us it was already old. Also that was a motivating aspect.

 

For the name of the album, you guys chose 'Better Ash Than Dust'. Can you explain what the title means to you guys?

George:
It is a bit like "Better to burn out rather to fade away". Instead of resting on your morals or remaining inactive, to actually put your ideas into actions. To me it is about rather being pro-active than reactive.
Josh:
With everything that has been going on in America, with the eyes on the politics and police brutality and everything like that, it was so  appropriate to name the EP that. The songs are also a reflection of the things that are currently going on in our country.

 

A couple of years ago I've found out, George, that you had a YouTube channel.

George:
Who me? I'm so sorry.
Josh:
You still do that shit [laughs]. Where you were doing these chats and everything?
George:
No and yeah…

 

So back in the day when you still did that, you made the connection with 'Disobedient' and comic books. Is there a connection  with 'Better Ash Than Dust' and comic books?

Josh:
I completely forgot about that [laughs].
George:
Yeah, I did and I guess if you take someone like Batman, or any superhero that felt the need to go out and fight injustice, that is someone who is 'Better Ash Than Dust'. I can for sure see that connection on a general level, but as far as specifics, I really need to sit down and think about that one. I mean there are plenty heroes that fit the description like Batman, V, The Punisher. He kind of took it to the next notch.

 

If you had to pick one specific song on the new EP as a favorite one, which one would it be?

Josh:
I think my one is 'The Suspend'. Emotionally I feel like the music is really pulling on me and the lyrics are in the idea of being a mentor, I guess. Like pulling them up to your level and hoping they go beyond you. Chris (red. Rawson), our other guitar player, has a daughter and whenever we were writing that song, he talked about how important it is for him as a father to teach her all of the right things that he has learned throughout his life. Also hoping that he can get her to follow in his footsteps, to be able to contribute to friends and family and even society, but also go beyond him. I really think that is a cool concept. I believe Jesse (red. Barnett, singer) originally wrote it for his sister. He has been someone to her more than just a brother, by helping her to go to college and stuff like that, really being an important figure in her life. I think that is such a good way to look at your life and to think about no matter who you are, you will always be an example for someone else. So you really should be striving to be really the best that you can and teach other people to be the best that they can, hopefully to improve this world as well.
George:
For me it is the same. Got nothing to add.
Josh:
And I love the feeling of it like it is a nursery rhyme. Jesse really tried to do all the vocals in one breath, so you can really feel like when he is about to give out. Nowadays when people do records, and we are also guilty on that, everything is like so perfect. Things like a voice crack in a certain bit or that drum hit is a little bit off, so let's sound replace it with a fake drum and stuff like that. So I really like that there is a human feeling to that song, specifically in the way that the vocals go. I might not be the most fun to play, because I play the same thing over and over, but that is my favorite song on the EP. Even one of my favorite Stick To Your Guns songs at this moment.

 

You guys have a lot of tattoos. Are there any tattoos linked to the lyrics or Stick To Your Guns in general?

Josh:
Not really Stick To Your Guns songs. When I joined in I was already pretty tapped out. I have stuff from other bands and things written on me that are linked to stories in my life, but non from Stick To Your Guns. We do have tour tattoos, so they are linked to Stick To Your Guns.

 

Do you have a specific reason why you put something in a song and not in a tattoo, or the other way around?

George:
Yeah, tattoos just cost money and take time [laughs].
Josh:
For me a tattoo is just for myself on that specific moment. A song is something that is potentially going to last forever and have an effect on other people. What I get tattooed, it is only going to affect me unless someone is offended by it, which at that point I really don't give a shit. It is not that I don't have Stick To Your Guns tattoos because I don't want them. It is just because now I'm getting older and tattoos hurt way more than I was younger.
George:
Yeah, I guess we only have those tour tattoos, like going with Stick To Your Guns to different places.
Josh:
Yeah we really don't have the symbols or anything.
George:
We should though. We should do that. It is funny, because every time I'm about to get a tattoo, I'm all like "Oh, this won't be that bad" and as soon as it starts I'm like " FUCK, I HATE THIS".
Josh:
Yeah we should get them eventually. When I was seventeen I could sit in the chair and go like "Yeah, let's fucking do this. I can do this all day", but now after like half an hour I'm like " This is fucking stupid, why are you doing this". It just hurts so fucking bad. [laughs]

 

Back to the album, I want to talk about the song 'Universal Language'. You already pointed it out, the cop brutality in America, which is a very unfortunate thing we get confronted by. I wanted to know how you guys look upon direct action, like for instance a band called 'Wolf Down' proclaims, against more "peaceful" protest.

Josh:
I think that, whatever gets the change that your community needs and wants, then I'm all for it. That means that in some town somewhere, if they need to burn down some buildings to make their local government look at the shit that is going on, then great. If that in some other town means they need to vote to make this change, then great. That is just my perspective on it. I've been in protest before and I also voted. I've seen positive action from both, but I've also seen absolute destruction from both. Me personally, I don't think that there is just one way. It just depends on what the problem is and where the problem is and who the problem is with.
George:
With Universal Language we talk about something that is a big topic in the States. You have these hotbeds of action, like Ferguson or Baltimore and even Dallas or Minneapolis, where the media or "white America" don't understand why these communities act out. They don't understand why they respond to police brutality in that way and with Universal Language we try to point out that it is because they were met with violence in the first place. With the excessive force the police used, they feel like that's the only way that they can react: with similar actions. It is like the only way you are going to understand me, is if I scream in your face "Please don't shoot" or walking on the highway and shutting it down. Then you have people saying "Maybe you should protest without disrupting the public". NO, that is the intention! It is so frustrating to see people immediately write things off like that. But then again, when you see someone like Colin Kaepernick take a knee during the national anthem, those people are all like "He can't do that". What do you want then! He is doing something really peaceful, all by himself, and it is not ok, but at the same time you don't want people grouping in the streets and chant. It is just so frustrating. It is a case-by-case scenario, but in a way the looting and protesting were very effective. Look what that did as far as putting a spotlight on America and the problem that we have with police. Amnesty International got called down to America like the first time in a hundred years. So, to me for sure it has its place.
Josh:
Also for someone to dismiss something, just because there are people stealing from their local stores, I think that is bullshit. Because then you are just dismissing an entire problem and who knows what those people were doing. But of course there will always be people taking advantage of that. I was in an anti-Trump protest and this situation brakes out between protesters and riot police. I literally saw people next to me, that were just there to fuck shit up. They don't care about the politics, they're just young kids with bricks that want to hit a cop in the head. But on the other hand I saw old immigrant men, they were crying, because they are being so mistreated. They were there to cause some kind of action and because they are so frustrated, I see one of them throwing a trash can. So I can totally see it is a case-by-case thing, but for someone to dismiss an entire idea because of violence, because of looting or because of something that is "wrong", sucks. Then you are just focusing on that and you are not focusing on what the real problem is. It is like that with anything. If people say "ALL MUSLIMS ARE FUCKING TERRORIST!", well ok, so this handful of self proclaimed Muslims are terrorists. "ALL CHRISTIANS ARE PIECES OF SHIT", this handful of self proclaimed Christians that are protesting, like the Westboro Baptist Church, yeah they are. But is my grandma a "piece of shit" because she thinks she found salvation through Jesus Christ? That is just her deal. The same with the Muslim that lives here down the street. In every group, even if it's hardcore or straight edge or veganism, you have people that are pieces of shit. These people want to fucking use a label to whatever negative shit they want to do. I remember years ago, I must have been fifteen or sixteen years old, I came home from a show and there was a VHS tape on my bed together with a note from my mom that said: "We need to talk". My little brother, probably eleven at that time, came into my room and said almost crying: "Is it true? Are you in a gang?". I was like "What are you talking about" and I put the VHS tape in and watched it. It was a recorded news show called 20/20 and they do pieces on a ton of different things, this one was on straight edge. In this particular show they interviewed these psycho people from Salt Lake City, that carved an X in a kid's back at a party and killed him for smoking cigarettes. They were all like "If you are smoking around me, I WILL FUCKING KILL YOU". So on the show they were all like "Straight edge people are insane. They are violent. They are murderers.", So my mom panicked an thought: "My son's a murderer!". So I had to explain that was not true. It is the same with people saying that all Muslims are terrorists, just because some pieces of shit are doing fucked up stuff.

 

It makes me think about the reportage on Boston Beatdown.

George:
Yes exactly.
Josh:
Right, it's like saying everyone involved in the Boston Hardcore scene is a bully and an ass beater. It is like, they all just listen to Merauder and fuck people up, but that is not true.

 

So in that same train of thought; All cops are bastards?

Josh:
[sighs and laughs]
George:
It is one that I do struggle with. I think we all do in the band, because that is an easy generalization to make. I think the problem with the police force is that they are hired to protect and serve these communities and that in a way they fail to do so. If you have this one person on the police force who is corrupt or using his power for bad, and the rest of the force is in the know and don't report him or they are not trying to out him like a piece of shit, then you have a serious problem. Then you have to ask yourself these questions like, are they an accomplice or are they aiding and abetting. This is like this spotlight issue in America, so it is a though question to ask.
Josh:
It is hard not to agree with it, but at the same time, I think that it is more accurate that the whole system is a bastard. So the fact that these people are able to do what they do, and at the same time that other people at the police force are scared to speak out about it, because for what can happen to them, sucks because it is a reality.
George:
Right, like my sister her boyfriend is a cop at St. Louis, that is where Ferguson is. I have a hard time talking to him now, because are you ok with knowing or do you speak out against it? Are you just like the status quo is what it is or are you the moral compass of your unit? It is a very frustration situation. I don't want to be the person that says "all cops are bastards", but a lot of them are dickheads.
Josh:
I just do my best to stay as far away from them as possible.
George:
Yeah, I definitely don't want to be friends with a police officer.

 

Let's get back to Stick to Your Guns. Stick To Your Guns is a band that is really about the message and the morals around hardcore, but you are also growing and becoming a big band. Do you see yourself as a big band?

George:
We never really see ourselves as a big band.
Josh:
But we do see and acknowledge that we are growing. It is hard not to whenever you look at us coming to Europe four years ago and like now. I mean, four years ago there were maybe two hundred kids at a show and now there're like two thousand kids at a show. It is cool to see that, but is not really the goal of the band. I like to think that this is the result of us just being who we are as being a band, I don't really know. Hopefully it is just that people are so turned on to our music an what we are saying, but at the same time it could just be a flavor of the month thing. For us it is like we really try to be aware of that, especially because of what I know from being in other bands. One of my biggest regrets that I had in other bands I was in, is not appreciating what I had when I had it. Getting to level three, but wanting to go to level four and when you're at level four, you want to go to level six. With Stick To Your Guns it is like "We're at level 2? Hell yeah!" I really think this is the way that Stick To Your Guns operates. With every step that we take, we appreciate it and try to consume it as much as possible. Because the fact of the matter is that one day the band is going to end. Whether it is five years or ten years from now. People are going to stop coming to shows, that is inevitable in most bands. It would be wonderful if we are not one of those bands, but no one is really thinking that. We always show up to a show and play there and go like "That was awesome! Hope it is the same next time, but if it isn't, then that was awesome!". Just be thankful for what we have, when we have it.
George:
Our journey has been so crazy that every day, no matter what the situation is, I can sit there and enjoy. Even if we play on Summerbreeze for thousands of people or like this show in Spain where we played only for twenty people, I can be like "This is fucking funny dude". Those two I can appreciate at the same level, as weird as this may sound. The whole band is on this same level. To me, we were always a band with no expectations. It is crazy that like Josh and Chris, who have way more experience on touring compared to the others in the band, and still don't have expectations. We can roll with the punches. When I was in high school, my dream was to play in a band and I don't care what it takes. So as for me, everything that has happened with Stick To Your Guns is like "Cannot believe that happened". I thought I was just going to play shows in my local town. The first time I got 10 dollars on the first Stick To Your Guns show for food, I was like "I've fucking made it! I just got 10 bucks and get to play here! This is awesome". [laughs]
Josh:
I remember the show in Spain. It was like what, two years ago? There were like twenty people there and Jesse shook hands with each and every one of them before we played the set. It was so cool [laughs]. But at the same tour we had shows with five or six thousand people and that was only five days apart. We are also very aware of that. It is funny 'cause me, Jesse and one of the guys from Bury Tomorrow were talking about it this morning. I think that our mentality always was: if we wanted to place the bar somewhere, we want to take as long as possible to get there. This is where a lot of bands go straight up and after a while they fall straight back down. We are just like the tourists, taking the scenic route, like we are going to get there eventually.
George:
Yeah, you want to get there, but slow. Go slightly upward.
Josh:
I would rather make, I'm making up an arbitrary number, half a million dollars over a span of twenty years, then getting it all when I was nineteen. That is what we see happening all the time, obviously the money is exaggerated, but we see a lot of kids that were in bands and received a big sum of money and three years later the band's gone, the money is all wasted and they are working at Starbucks. So I rather get that money on small pieces for a long time [laughs].

 

Otherwise we would have had this conversation in Starbucks maybe.
Josh:
More like on the street. [laughs]

 

Did you ever get judged by growing?

Josh:
Oh for sure. It is crazy that you are asking these questions, because it was literally an hour long conversation that I had with Jesse. For some reason in like punk or hardcore and probably in every music genre with an underground level like Hip Hop for instance, there is this mentality that is like "Oh you are playing for a thousand people? Sellouts!" or whatever.  Now you are big and you are not a hardcore band anymore. For some reason, when you are in a hardcore or a punk band, you are supposed to be suffering all the time, really uncomfortable, making no money at all and barely play for anyone.
George:
And then you have to break up! [laughs]

 

and come back at ten years!
Josh:
Yeah exactly [laughs]. No man, I'm just like fuck that! You can't tell me that I'm not a punk band or a hardcore band, because I don't give a shit if you think that we aren't a punk or hardcore band. We are to me. You know there is this guy at home and we went on tour with him a couple of years ago. He is one of those hardcore elitist kind of guy, you know? So we were on tour and he got to know us there and he was all like: "It is crazy man! It is like you are a hardcore band. The stuff you talk about, is like a hardcore band does. You move around like a hardcore band and you have these fast parts and heavy parts. It is crazy!". I'm like "Yeah, we are wild right? That's because we are a fucking hardcore band." [laughs]. People have a problem with the fact that you get to a certain level. It are interesting times in the heavy music industry. Like for instance, when we go on tour with a band such as 'I See Stars' and there is this kid that comes to see 'I See Stars' and he saw us play and afterwards he came to us and said "I've never seen anything like this, this is cool!".
George:
Yeah this actually happened.
Josh:
So those people start coming more to our shows and start buying our shirts and stuff. But in like three years later, when we come and play with a band like Terror, they're there and they're suddenly too hardcore for us. So they are just standing there and they're like "I'm not here to see you pussies, I'm here to see Expire" or another band that these kind of kids might agree with. It is like, what the fuck are you talking about [laughs]. You came the last fifteen shows and you used to come and say "Hi" all the time and now you are suddenly "too cool" for us?
George:
Two years later though, they will be on tour with another band and they're all like "Whooo, I love you guys, you guys are sick!", it is weird.
Josh:
When we first started experiencing that kind of stuff, it was kind of hard to understand. But now we really don't care. We are aware of what we are doing, where we're going and where we've been. That is all that matters. It doesn't matter what some kid, a promoter or even a manager thinks. The only thing that matters is how we feel about ourselves as a band.

 

I can imagine that sometimes these situations can turn into a vicious hate.

George:
Yeah, there were some real crazy moments, that's for sure.

 

I remember that there is a certain clip on YouTube that Jesse has gotten a beer thrown in his face. Do these things happen a lot?

George:
That specific thing happened more than once, yeah. But the beer in the face thing is usually just one prick and honestly, it just depends on how Jesse is going to react. If it actually upsets him, he is going to call the guy out. There was this show in Berlin where this happened and Jesse stopped and was like "If you have something to say to me, we are just going to have a conversation elsewhere. You don't have to throw a beer in my face to get my attention."
Josh:
If you really have an issue or want to talk about something, let's talk. You don't have to be a dick about it, but if you want to be a dick about it: fine, we can be dicks back. Just because we are a band doesn't mean we have limits to how we might react. If Jesse wanted to, he could have just thrown the mic in the guy's face and get him kicked out of the show. Luckily for us that shit doesn't happen so often. The thing I really have an issue with is when we are playing a narly show and kids decide to use the neck of my guitar as a tool to pull themselves up on stage. They are so excited that for some reason in their brain it make sense to do such a thing. So we are playing and they grab my guitar and they use that to pull themselves out of the crowd. So I have two options, I can pull back and risk breaking the guitar, or I can bend forward so that they fall and I have to retune the guitar. So that is really annoying, but other than that there aren't much stupid things happening during our play. [Laughs]
George:
Yeah the thing is, I'm really helpless behind the drums sometimes. I've been in situations where we just finished our set and a kid runs up and steals all my drumsticks. Well yeah, you can't really do anything because you are trapped behind there.

 

As a final topic, I want to talk about something where the eyes of the world are focused on at the moment: the American presidential race.

George:
Oh, that fucking nightmare.
Josh:
There is more issues this year. You know the thing is; the government has always been corrupt. I believe that this year even more people are watching, because Trump is such a fucking clown, that it is so hard to comprehend that he actually became the republican nominee. Even when it all started, I felt like everyone was like "HAHAHA, what a joke. He will never make it.". But he did make it, which means that there are people that actually want him. The anti-Trump protest that I was talking about, was at a Trump-rally with twenty thousand people in New Mexico. It is a terrifying thought, but yeah every four years your Facebook feed is on fire. This year is no different, but absolutely even more out of control, because of the choices that we have.
George:
Yeah, it is crazy what social media has done as far as awareness. That is such a good thing, but on the other hand it is not without its faults.
Josh:
When you look back, Roosevelt understood radio, JFK understood TV, Obama understood the internet and Trump understands social media and reality-TV. I think that is why it is so interesting and so many people are following it.

 

So yeah, you only have two options in America. In Belgium we have this way of saying: "It is like choosing between Cholera and the Plague".

George:
[laughs] In America we say: "In between a rock and a hard place".
Josh:
Yeah it is "Sophie's choice", "The lesser of two evils".
George:
In this election it is not so much what Trump will do as a president. For sure thanks to the democratic voters, we are going to get a democratic senate and house of representatives. As for the law making, you are going to have a democratic leading body. Sure, Trump is going to veto all of that. That is gridlocked, that is what we had for most of the Obama presidency. What the problem is and what you also see with something like Brexit, is that it emboldens and validates that voter base of Trump, which are racists and bigots. Josh witnessed it first hand in New Mexico. It is all like "Wow, I don't have to be worried about being a no-verb  racist now.".  With Brexit you have hate crimes going up until 40% in the UK and that was just a vote for a hypothetical leave. It fuels people with hate, so they go on to the streets and scream "Get the fuck out, all you immigrants!".
Josh:
Yeah and that leads to a point where people are yelling the most racist shit towards other people and then someone pulls out a knife and you have a full scale riot. It's because people start to feel validated to shout "Fucking build a wall". It is so fucking ignorant.
George:
To me that is the scary part. It is the Indian man who got nearly beaten to death a gas station in Kansas, because two people went all like "TRUMP MOTHERFUCKER! GET OUT OF OUR COUNTRY!" and just beat the shit out of him. That is scary. On the other side you have Clinton. I don't want to say she is the anti-Christ, but that women is scary as shit. She is a career politician and every career politician is a terrible person, but if I only had two choices, yeah sure. So there is a need for a better system. There has got to be a better way.

 

Do you ever think that this is possible?

George:
What you saw this year, with Bernie Sanders, is a phenomenon. That was a once-in-a-lifetime event. What he did, as far as being a Trojan horse candidate in the democratic party, he did what all these other independent candidates should have done. He just went; I'll play ball,  I'll register as a democratic candidate, get the spotlight on me and run my own platform even if it is more progressive as the usual democratic party platform. But now Clinton has four years to prove herself if she does get elected. If she doesn't, there is going to be so much accountability held on her that she is not guaranteed to be a two-term president.
Josh:
And what is even more scary about that is that if she does get elected, people will all go like: "Now we have to make up for the eight years the black guy was in office AND the four years the women was in office."
George:
Trump is the direct reaction on Obama's presidency. It is that equilibrium. These racists feel like they had to put up with eight years of this black guy's presidency. Now we're going to get a president that is really going to make America a good place and not some Muslim terrorist. America is so fucked right now.

 

Interview by Jesse Mouart

Lonely The Brave

Things will matter’ is the second album from the british band lonely the brave, and they’re more than ready to introduce it to their European fans. We met two of its members in antwerp, where they played a gig later that night. Andrew Bushen (bass) en Ross Smithwick (guitar) were clearly in a good mood -a sunny day in Belgium is definitely something to be cheerful about- and were happy to do a quick recap of the summer they had so far.

Andrew (Bushen, bass player): “We’ve just been bobbing around Europe, really. It’s been amazing so far, but pretty weird as well. We stayed in this small, weird German village some time ago. We had a great time, ‘cause they made really good wine in a local winery, but it was quite bizarre at the same time. Hard to explain why, but it really felt like we were in The Truman Show. It had something of a sixteenth century village with only a couple of 56-year-olds walking around, which was really disturbing, actually (laughs).”
Ross (Smithwick, guitar, vocals): “Just a bit creepy, really.”
Andrew: “But here, in Antwerp, it’s fun as well. We basically just had some drinks, all day long. Some of that good Belgian beer. And I wanted a haircut. Failed. And I also wanted to get a tattoo. Failed that too. So drinking is all we did, basically. Oh, and we’ve had some chips too.”

So touring across Europe is quite agreeing with you?  
Ross: “It’s been fantastic. We’ve played some amazing gigs in Amsterdam, Berlin as well. All great places to have been and perform. Everything seems to be getting bigger. It’s very exciting.”
Andrew: “Berlin is an amazing place to play. It’s quite special to us, I dunno… It’s the way the crowd sings back our songs, the atmosphere… Amsterdam is also a nice place to play a gig. It’s like they really get what we’re about, you know? And as for the rest of the summer, we’re really excited about that too. We’re playing a lot of smaller gigs this year, playing our new record.”
Ross: “We did the big festivals last year, like Reading, Leeds, Glastonbury… But we like playing the smaller festivals this time around.”

Seems to me that there’s no nicer way to spend the summer than touring across Europe.  
Ross: “That’s the best thing about going on tour, seeing one place after another, meeting lots of new and interesting people.”
Andrew: “It’s mainly about just doing the shows and for the fans who want to see us perform. But it’s nice as well to have a day off and see some of the city we’re in at that time. But playing a lot is what we much rather do. Although I quite miss home sometimes (laughs). And my bed. And my girlfriend. And cat.”

I suppose it’s something you’ve gotta get used to, right, being on the road?
Ross: “Yeah, and this time around we had an actual tour bus. It was nice, but not when all power is out and you’re all stuck together in that same bus. Without air conditioning or any windows.”
Andrew: “There were windows?”
Ross: “Yeah, but there might as well couldn’t have been(laughs). It was all quite see through. Anybody could see us in our natural habitat.”

Kind of like the windows in Amsterdam?
Ross: “Yes, but a lot less attractive, trust me (laughs). But yeah, a dozen men in one van that feels like forty degrees, it’s the less fun aspect of going on tour. But it’s been pretty much relaxed, really…”

And did you enjoy playing at the big festivals the most or rather small venues like Kavka in Antwerp?
Andrew: “We definitely like playing both. We’ve played shows where there was a crowd of a thousand, and then during some of them like a hundred people turn up, but it still feels like there’s a thousand of them there, you know? You can never tell, every night, every gig is different. Sometimes we play shows and we honestly thought we played a bad show, but then people come up to us and tell us they loved it.”
Ross: “It’s nice to hear people like the new songs, we’ve had quite a lot of positive feedback. That’s why we like touring right now. Fans have been thankful for the new stuff so far.”

But I wonder: is there such a thing like a boring or not-interested crowd?
Andrew: “The fact people turn up specially to see you play is incredible. Sometimes you have an audience who just listens, people who aren’t there to go mental, but who stand more… stationary during the show. Especially now with the new record, because people don’t really know the songs yet. At other places, you have a crowd that does go fucking mental. You just never know.”  

Talking about the new record: what’s it like playing the new songs live?  
Andrew: “Absolutely amazing. Some people already know the lyrics to some of the new stuff, and we’ve heard a lot of good comments so far… So yeah, we’re pretty excited to play them live.”
Ross: “Our set isn’t filled with new songs, it’s more 50/50. That way it’s more fun for us to play the old songs. During the new material, people mostly listen while they go mental when they hear an older song.”

Is there a huge difference between this one and the first record?  
Ross: “Oh, everything’s changed since the release of the first record. We’ve changed quite a lot ourselves since the debut. The new album sounds more mature, and a lot of stuff has happened during that period between the first and this record. We haven’t only changed as musicians, but as individuals as well. We’ve had an interesting eighteen months… quite life-changing. We’re in the music business now, you have to be aware of a lot more stuff that goes on. Especially when you’re at where we are now, as a band. You’re not only a musician, but you’re kind of forced to be a business man too. But these past months have made us stronger and we’ve gotten closer as a band. We’ve seen and done some amazing things, a lot more good moments than bad ones. What we really like is how we got the opportunity to do exactly what we wanted for the second record, and that they trusted us with our decisions.”

Was it hard writing the new album?
Andrew: “No, not really. There are always difficult moments you’ve got to get through as a band, but you the best out of each other that way. But in general, everything came quite naturally to us. A bunch of the new stuff was already done or we had some ideas for it. We focused on writing for four, five months maybe, to make sure we had everything we need before we got to recording in the studio.”

I’ve read you worked on the record somewhere in a barn on the countryside?
Andrew: “It was like, uh, a converted barn with a little studio in it. We’ve recorded pretty much everything there. It’s a beautiful location to record and write. Closed off from everything. Out of the big city, pure concentration.”

Is the big city not the right place for you to work on an album?
Ross: “Nah, not for us as a band. An abandoned barn in the countryside, now that works for us. Locking ourselves up, away from any distractions. Otherwise we get too easily distracted.”

Did you carefully consider what the new album would sound like?
Ross: “We never have any conversations about how we want to sound like, or like who. We do listens to fantastic music, but that doesn’t mean we want to sound like it… People always try to tell you what you sound like or what or who you resemble, but I personally don’t feel we can label our music or put it in some kind of box. We just play the stuff we like ourselves. It’s a collective of different sounds.”

Would the record sound very different if you’d recorded it in the city?
Ross: “Yeah, ofcourse. Everything you do effects your life… All the choices we’ve made to make this record -music, art work, … – it all depended on the place where we recorded and written the new material. Every experience you go through changes you, or has a certain influence.”
Andrew: “A lot of things would’ve been different. For example, we could have chosen a totally different producer, and then it would’ve sounded nothing like the record we have now. The producer for this album really gave it his own touch, and we’re so glad he did. Everything, absolutely everything would’ve been different. And it’s not only when you’re in a band. Same goes for everyone. The decisions you make always effect your actions. It’s the same thing in music. Just try to do it your own way, whatever makes you feel comfortable, and in the situation you’re in at that time.”

It all does sound a bit like therapy, no?  
Ross: “Everything we do is a way to convey our emotions. But I wouldn’t necessarily call it therapy. Although our lyrics have gotten very personal. The first record was more honest.”
Andrew: “But it is a way to express ourselves.”
Ross: “Especially on stage. Our last gig with the first record… I remember, like, a wave of emotions coming over us afterwards. I dunno how… A lot of the time, you stop thinking about everyday stuff on stage, you know. And then you get off and you start thinking about your life outside, your family, …”
Andrew: “We put a lot of emotions in what we do. It’s all very honest and real. We make music about real stuff, stuff everybody knows about. It always comes up, whether we’re writing, recording, performing… If that wasn’t the case, then we wouldn’t be doing it right.”

There’s always this one song on a record that personally means something more to you. Which one is it on this second album?
Ross: “For me it’s ‘Jaws of hell’. It took me two years to write and finish it. It literally kicked my arse. But eventually I got through it.”
Andrew: “It was the last song we recorded. And the last song on the album. It was quite a proud moment for us, finishing the record. It’s the best feeling ever, when you put all that time and energy into something and finally… it’s done, you know? It kind of feels like baking your own loaf of bread. Every bit of satisfying.”
Ross: “He’s always going on about how he can bake his own bread.”
Andrew: “I love it. I will bake you a baguette some time, Ross.”
Ross: “You do that.”

And what is your special skill, Ross?
Ross: “Oh, I haven’t got one. I’m ginger, for God’s sake.”

Keep working on the new material perhaps?
Andrew: “Oh, we’ll never stop! We don’t get to stop and pause. We’re always working on new stuff, and we’ve been planning quite a lot for the third album.”
Ross: “As long as they let us, we keep doing what we do. We still have loads to do. We just hope people will keep on turning up.”
I honestly don’t doubt that for one bit.
Andrew: “As long as we treat them right!”

 

Skálmöld

During one of Germany’s many festivals, we at RMP had the honour to have a chat with Icelandic folk heroes Skálmöld. They even challenged us to do something extraordinary! Want to know what? You can find out in the interview! So get your mead, put on your kilt and enjoy our chat about lullabies for fire giants, their collaboration with Alestorm, foreign candy and much more!

B: Björgvin Sigurðsson – vocals, guitars
T: Þráinn (Thrain) Árni Baldvinsson – guitars
J: Jón Geir Jóhannsson – drums

Hi, we saw your show today and we thought it was awesome! It was your first time here at Summer Breeze. How has it been?
    •    J: It was amazing! A lot of fun. The crowd was absolutely beautiful, they were really into it and had great energy.
    •    B: For me, it was one of the best festival gigs ever.
    •    T: Yes, it was really a show to remember.

The festival is almost done but are there any bands you want to see that are also playing here?
    •    T: I would have loved to see Testament! But today I’d like to see My Dying Bride but I think we’re doing a signing session at the same time so I will listen to them from afar [laughs].
    •    B: Primordial would nice. T: And Napalm Death! I really like them a lot.

In 2014 you released “Með vættum”, your third studio album. The album is a concept album around the character of Þórunn. Can you tell our readers in short what the story is about?
    •    J: It was kind of an idea of Snæbjörn, our bass player, who writes all the lyrics; he started out writing something in that area before we released “Börn Loka”, our second album. We kind of put those lyrics aside because it was a different theme then the theme of the children of Loki. But now we wanted to kind of change things and have a female main protagonist and base it on the four mythical guardians of Iceland that appear in the epos. There’s not much written about them unfortunately but they’re just really cool creatures so they were kind of the main focus and the story of Þórunn was used to link them together. I like the story!
    •    T: Yeah, on our first two albums we had a story from start to finish in ten songs but this was more like a non-linear story.
    •    J: We follow her from birth ‘till death so we had a bigger timeline we had to tell but yeah, it really was a lot of fun.

Did you like making such an album or was it more difficult to cover her whole life from birth ‘till death?
    •    J: We usually write the music first and then we all talk about what the story should be about and then our bass player writes the lyrics around the music.
    •    B: Usually we have kind of like a skeleton of what the story is about, without any details. For example, when we were writing ‘Baldur’, our first album, we basically had the story and the names of the songs and then we had to fill in the music for the song titles and then Snæbjörn writes the lyrics to that music. First the atmosphere is taken from what’s going on in the story, and when he writes the lyrics, they kind of take the atmosphere from the songs.
    •    J: I think it’s easier like that than write something randomly…

You sing in your mother tongue, which is Icelandic. Was this a conscience choice when writing songs and starting the band?
    •    B: Yeah, we decided to write songs in Icelandic and sing them in Icelandic. We never even thought of releasing them outside of Iceland… We’ve actually never talked about writing in English and I think we will never do that.
    •    J: We follow the rules of the Icelandic poetry – the old strict rules and they just work and make things very rhythmical and interesting. I don’t think we can do that in English. Like on the new album we have this bonus cd with cover songs and there are two songs that Björgvin actually sings in English and he sometimes just sounds like an idiot. It just does not work! [Laughing] It’s really silly! So we’re not going to do that anymore.
    •    T: Yeah, you know, because we get the inspiration from the Norse mythology and sagas and because they’re all in Icelandic and we follow those old traditional rules of Icelandic poetry… To write the lyrics in English would be weird and would not justify the real meaning and content of the Icelandic poetry.

In September you’ll release your fourth album “Vögguvísur Yggdrasils” (“Lullabies of Yggdrasil”). Why did you choose to make an album around those heathen lullabies?
    •    B: Because it’s cool!
    •    J: That’s actually another concept that we have been playing around with for several years. First we thought of just doing an EP or something but then we came up with the idea to create lullabies for each of the worlds in the old Norse mythology. That made it really interesting because how does somebody sing to their child in Hell? It’s not really a nice place. Or in Múspell, you know, the fire giants that have a very destructive kind of power. The music are not lullabies at all, I mean it’s just a lyrical concept and it’s kind of interesting to think about such things.

The evening before we left for Summer Breeze, I saw on Facebook that Alestorm is about to cover one of your songs because you’re going to cover Alestorm’s “Drink”. How did this collaboration come by?
    •    J: We toured with them in 2011 during our very first tour and we are really great friends ever since. And you always have to do some bonus songs for the limited edition and so and we decided to do only covers of songs by bands that we’ve toured with or songs that really means something to us. When they found that out, they were just like “Okay, we’ll just cover one of your songs!” and I think Chris (Bowes, Alestorm) – he won’t sing in Icelandic… Basically he took the lyrics and put them into Google Translate and he’s going to sing the Google Translate English version. We were like “Can we hear the track before releasing?” and they were like “We haven’t heard yours!” so we made a pact that we’re not going to hear each other’s versions until we get the actual vinyl in our hands! So we don’t know anything –
    •    T: – It’s very exciting! [Laughs]

    •    You also chose “Nattfödd” from Finntroll to cover. Why did you choose this song?
    •    T: We’re very good friends with Finntroll too and “Nattfödd” is of course a very good song. We used to sing with them on stage when we were touring together. We would go on stage and sing the choir arrangements for the drop-down part of the song so it was kind of an obvious choice basically to cover that song!
    •    J: The record company actually had this idea that we would do the covers. Obviously Finntroll… We’ve been touring with them many times.

You are very present on all kinds of social media. Is this a group effort or are there some of you that post more than others?
    •    B: When you see very boring posts with only facts about something, that’s me! [Laughing] All the fun stuff, that’s the other guys.
    •    T: That’s not always true, but if it’s facts or practical things, it’s mostly Björgvin’s posts. And we, the rest just… joke around. Like usually when we are on tour we always try to buy some kind of candy and we buy it in bins and cans. So we have a lot of terrible candy! And then we eat it on the tour. I don’t know why we do it but I guess it’s to experience new things.
    •    J: Or the come into mood of the country we’re in. [Laughs]

At the end of October, you will do a tour with Korpiklaani and after that you’ll start the Finnish Folk Metal Maffia tour with Moonsorrow and again Korpiklaani. Why touring with these two bands?
    •    J: They just contacted us…
    •    B: It’s basically booking agents… they do it behind the scenes. And it usually works that way that the ‘bigger’ bands offer a spot to ‘smaller’ bands. Like “Do you want to join us on this, and this and this…”.
    •    J: Yeah, we already with them and we know a lot of the crew very well from other tours, you know. It’s a very small circle of people that touring circle so you get to know people. We’ve always had this mentality when we’re on tour to really try to be nice and likeable because that kind of always gives you something back. So yeah, we’re really looking forward to the tour!

While on tour, do you guys have some sort of pre-show ritual?
    •    T: No… basically we try to warm up, I start playing on my guitar… We don’t sacrifice goats or anything. [Laughs]
    •    J: Yeah, just try to wake up basically and do the best you can every single time.
    •    T: Just seconds before we go on stage, we gather like in a circle and tell each other not to suck! [Laughs]
    •    B: Yeah, it’s a lot of manly laughs and hitting each other on the shoulder.
    •    J: Punching each other on the shoulder to get a good atmosphere…
    •    T: Yeah, that punch can really mean a lot of things.
    •    B: It says more than a thousand words.

Thank you very much for the interview. Do you have any last words for our readers?
    •    T: I challenge all Belgian metal readers to write a metal musical about Tin Tin!
    •    J: That would be really awesome!
    •    T: Yeah, I think so! And while you are writing the music, you should listen to Skálmöld! Or on the other hand, don’t do it! We’ll do it!
    •    J: But it’s their heritage!
    •    T: Yes, we will steal your heritage!
    •    B: And I will sing in Flemish!

I’d like to hear that! Once again, thank you very much for the interview!

King Dude

King Dude, the alter ego of TJ Cowgill and his band of comrades play a more intimate and acoustic based dark folk/ country / rock … To my surprise the mostly hardcore based line up of Ieperfest featured  King Dude this year to play the festival at the Marquee stage on Friday. With a new release just around the corner, we met up with the dude himself to find out all about what drives TJ to create his music and of course the in and outs of his new upcoming album Sex. 

Welcome to Ieperfest, first time here?

Yes, i've never been to this city or this festival. I like it. Is this a city? I should probably check it out.

King Dude has a new album coming out soon, October will be the release of Sex, 11 new songs all about…sex. Can you let us in on the new record?

It's pretty much sex, it says itself. Whenever i do a subject, like Fear is about fear and Love was about love. Sex has the subject of sex. When i approach those albums i have an idea of what i want i think i'm making. But it never comes exactly out the way i think of it. It's kind of strange when i started writing the album called sex i was thinking what is the most sexual music that exists. And that of course that leads to funk, soul disco, R&B and pop music. So i've studied a lot of that music.

You think of sex your mind goes automatically to George Michael or Madonna. Like Madonna espaciall, she had an album named Erotica. Or someone like Prince. These are subjects that a lot of people have written about. I hope that my perspective is a little bit different. I think it is. It's not a pop record but it has more of a rock 'n roll element, more country songs at times. To me it's really imortant. It's a good subject. There's songs you could fuck to if you want. Or just listen to and have an enlightening experience. It can go any way. It has to be done with such care. Especially in this age that we're now in, this is the subject that people should be talking about it and understanding more. All the different kinds of sex that exist. Not just my perspective. So i cover other things.

There's this song on it called Swedish Boys. It's about wanting a Swedish boy. Not necessarily where i'm at but it's a very fun subject to write. You know that kind of songs where the girl is too good to get, she will never be with you. I wrote that about an entire country worth of men. Which is fun. It is different.

Two songs have been released on your Bandcamp, Holy Christos and Our Love Will Carry On. Two different type of songs that reflect the full album?

Soft is a good way to describe it but it is a heavy song too in it's own way. When the chorus comes in and it's subject. It's one of the most love songs on the album. I wrote that one when John Murphy passed away. From SPK and he played in Death In June. He played in a lot of bands. I didn't write it about John but i was that kind of heartbroke. We were supposed to meet up one more time and we never got to meet up again. I was really depressed when i wrote it and it made me feel better. It did it's job. That's what a song is supposed to do.

Holy Christos it's way different because it has bass on it. That song started with the bass guitar. Which is a new instrument to me. I obviously played bass and i play guitar but i never started playing songs from a bass guitar. I did that because it's sex. You've got to think of sexual instruments like the bass and drums. It has something you feel in the frequencies. It's body music, it doesn't hit you in the head. That's also when you think about sex, it's here. You don't want intellectualize it too much. It's kind of ironic because that's what we're doing now. That song sounds a little bit different. It has a more upbeat kind of drive to it.

I wasn't sure which two to pick. With that kind of record there's a lot of different kind of songs on there. I think that's consistent with me. I don't want to make the song track over and over again. I've been accused of being a two trick pony, i'm more of a five trick pony. It's a type of song i really like to write. There's not another song like Holy Christos or Our Love Will Carry On on the album, there's more upbeat songs. Since i started writing with piano too, there's stuff that starts from there. Like this song The Leather One thats starts with the organ and clarinet, which is a weird instrument, very funky. To me it has a Leonard Cohen I'm Your Man kind of vibe to it. I'm trying to really exploit that similarity i have.

You also cooperated with Julee Cruise (Twin Peaks theme song) on a split EP. How did this occasion arise?

She's a beautiful singer. Facebook, Julee is pretty active on Facebook, a mutual friend saw that she posted a Jezus In The Courtyard video. King Dude, what a great band name, this video is so great check it out. Weirdly enough i had already written that song Animal. I was searching for someone to sing it. I had my girlfriend trying to sing it but she hasn't got the right range. I have a demo version of me singing it. I was racking my brain, who can sing it. Then i see this thing, it clicked. If she likes my band i can write here and maybe then she can sing it. Withing a couple days we were scheduling it. It was meant to be. I watched her perform in North Bend Washington for the Twin Peaks festival, where they filmed Twin Peaks. She performed the song and that was probaly my proudest moment i've ever felt. She's an idol to me, i idolize her since i was young. It's so cool. Julee is brillliant.

On previous albums one of the main topics is duality, light and dark, good and bad, love and hate,…The eternal quest for balance?

This is a common protagonist. It's an easy thing to write. Everyone does walk a fine line. No one is good, no one is evil. People do evil things and they do good things. But to say one person could be completely one thing. Obviously there are like psychopath murderers and things like that. they probably still have people that love them and that they love. There's more of a different shade of it. I think i'm more of a balanced person I try to lean towards good. Sometimes you have to embrace darkness. You have to stare in it. There's nothing in the darkness that can hurt us. We all are rocketing towards it if we like it our not, we're heading there as fast as we can and that's death. If you're not willing to stare into the darkness and what death is then you're not really living a prepared life There's nothing in the darkness that should be terrifying. It's just the unknown. The things that go bump in the night, the theing that we are afraid of, the things that aren't real, those things are there to keep us safe from what we can discover about ourselves. That totally makes sense with how i write songs and the kind of protagonists i work with. That's what i'm working on for myself. You have to go past that fear. It's about challenging. I want people to be better, you could get the record and be like, that's a good record. Or you could get the record and listen and read the lyrics and dig down, when it's done really well you could get even deeper into it. You could find possibly spirituality or religion, you could find a lot of things. It doesn't end at the surface. But there is that kind of stupid surface to the whole thing. It's King Dude for god's sake.

Paganism, religion, symbolism, these are all of influence on your music. Like the band logo, the Nauthiz rune. It's like a sigil?

Definitely. It's just a rune. That all it is. People think it's more to it. Some people think it's edgy other people know that it's not. To me it represents the desire and the path that i am on. The need for fire, the need to create, the journey i which. Not the goal but the path. It's a concept that we don't have that often in religion. Just doing it, the cathartic process of making yourself better is also valuable. Not being perfect. It doesn't even represent the attempt, it represents doing.

That's something mostly 21th century i believe. We're used to instant gratification…

I hate that. I hate these things, i hate phones. You have to have a computer, i'm a graphic designer as well at home. This thing is a tool i have to use. That's why i record my own music, i record with this computer. I don't mind that process. If you look back at the past. If this had been presented to A.P. Carter who started the Carter Family, he would have probably done it himself. We live in a time where the tools are presented to us. The technology is presented to us. There's no reason no to do things. You just have to be smart willing and really in line with your will and make sure that is good for other people. You don't want to manifest negative ways that hurts people in the process. I'm very intent about keeping this band, this project, keeping people employed around it, keeping the fans very happy. Having a good impact on people. I'm saying that now but my next record might not be like that. I know what's it's called. You might be in for a surprise. I'm writing it right now. The title is done, the title for the record after that is done but i'm not working on that album yet. It will wrap up a chapter. Basically an eight album arc that i've been working on. Tonight's Special Death would have been the first, Love the second and up untill Sex now which is the sixth. Then there will be a seventh and an eight. So hopefully when you listen to all eight albums you could see that, but i don't know who will listen to eight hours straight like that.

Before King Dude, you've played in full bands. King Dude is mostly a one man operation with additional musicians for the recording and live side. A huge difference of working and getting your music out there?

Oh yeah it is. There's so many things to consider. From how they play the material, to how they get along with each other. Whether they're able to do it, to take the time of work. I wouldn't say we're the busiest band in the world but we are touring three to four months out of the year. That's difficcult for some. Not reaping possibly all the benefits from the other band that they play with. I looked at the classic dynasties, Johhny Cash, James Brown, he's not the best example, people who had bands that were very good. They were more or less treated good. They treat their bands really well. That should be their top priority. Johhny Cash and people like that. I read a lot about what Quincy Jones did with a twenty piece band, when he was just gettting started with the Jazz orchestra. There's was times when he was losing so much money but he had to keep going because it's twenty people on the bus. And that's a lot of people. That's the kind of grind i like. It's encouraging to me. It puts me in a position where i have to care for these people. And there's even more people. Like the people i run the record label with in the States. Just make sure everything works. There's a lot going on.

Today you'll be playing Ieperfest, a hardcore festival featuring a diverse range of bands that quite differ from King Dude. Do you adjust the set for certain occasions?

We'll feel it out. At these festivals sometimes, like we played Wacken and we played Brutal Assault in the Czech Repulic. There's like ballads that might have to come out. We feel that as we go. We don't put the setlist down every night like some bands. We know what we're going to play. There's a lot of process and care there as well. There's some that i pluck some nights. If this is going to be the voice and piano song you might not hear that here. Because it might not be the right environement. Clubshows are better for those. It's more or less the same. I might take one out. We have to consider time as well.

It's really spur of the moment. I always call it out, they have suggestions. But there is only so many songs that they know. So we'll reach a point where they can't play anymore and i can play forty more songs if i wanted. It's too difficult to be really good and train over fourty, fifty songs, for that they have to love me to death. No one does, no one loves my song enough to learn fifty of them. To keep them all fresh. That's my job. I got to do that.

Any last words, plans,… ?

The new record is called Sex. We talked about that a lot. That will come out October 28th. I hope you guys enjoy it. Check it out and let me know what you think.

Interview : David Marote

Photography : David Marote

Useless ID

Useless ID have been representing Middle Eastern punkrock for over two decades already. Straight out of Haifa the Israeli band has always had tight connections with the Fat Wreck type punkrock so no surprises here when they recently released their new album State Is Burning. Currently on their European tour with Lagwagon to promote the new album we had a nice chat with guitar player Ishay Berger during their stop at Ruhrpott Rodeo about Useless ID and State Is Burning.

Congratulations with the new album State Is Burning. How has the response been on this European tour with Lagwagon?

Thank You!
First of all, it was really cool to have a new record out and then go out on the road (and with Lagwagon – even cooler!!!!) 2 weeks after the release date, I mean, this is as good as it can get for us.
The response has been very good, We had people that are on the tour with us and people that came to the shows as well praising our work on the new album and also on the set that we would play every night – that was always packed with songs from the new album.

Tour is almost over, i believe last stop is Punk Rock Holiday. Looking forward?

This tour saw Us playing 23 shows in less than a month, so it was real long and cool to do, and as always -, kind of tough and made us look forward to the last date – which is Punk Rock Holiday.

The new album was recorded at the legendary Blasting Room studios with Bill Stevenson. It's not your first time with Bill, how did it go?

Yup, this is our fourth time recording an album at The Blasting Room, and it has been the most fun we ever had making an album…
The system at The Blasting Room is crazy cool, in a way it's like doing 2 days of work in one.
Once we get enough songs done on drums we will start recording Bass while drums are still being recorded and so on…It's not unusual that we will start mixing songs while still getting some vocals and third guitars in another room, so it is very busy, very wonderful time while we're there,
It helps that we had already been recording there to the point where we know how things are going to work and the "Do's and Don't Do's" of the sessions.

State Is Burning focusses heavy on the lyrics, quite some political based songs in a way. How do you feel the record diverses from previous ones?

Our last album (Symptoms) was a different Useless ID album, it was a bit heavier and slower, and the themes Were a bit more personal and grim…
For "State Is Burning" We wanted to change the pace up and have less instrumental bits and more "Wall To Wall" singing…
Also, yes, since the political theme was quite left out of the last album We felt that for the new one We wanted to voice our opinions over those matters more and therefore have a more of a statement rather than make personal songs.

The artwork is rather bleak with the photo collage featuring tanks, bombs, quite apocalyptic. Is this to visualise the burning state in the album title?

Yes, and also, the album title came from a song on the album and in a way I guess the cover art totally describes that song.

The song 45 seconds is living up to it's name, 45 seconds of fast, angry punkrock that sort of stands out to the more melodic album. A certain influence there?

Well, Yotam and Corey have a band called "Spit", it's a fast H.C band based out of Israel and they have a killer record out called " Poison In Your Head"…
I think that while they made that album Yotam wanted to have a song that is a bit more in the "Spit" way for the new Useless ID album, too, so that's where it came from.

A right on tribute is We Don't Want The Airwaves, also the title to you EP on Fat Wreck before the album release. Are Ramones the biggest punk band ever, the alpha and the omega?

The story with "We Don't Want The Airwaves" is a bit more complicated…
When we were younger and into H.C and Punk we always missed out on The Ramones…I clearly remember liking Screeching Weasel, M.T.X and The Queers better than The Ramones and it REALLY took Me over 10 years to finally "get them"…
In writing this song we wanted to show love to all of their albums and all of their songs because they rarely ever missed…almost EVERYTHING on their catalog is great, sometimes for different reasons, but it's all gold. 
So, maybe not the biggest ever, the alpha or the omega, but certainly They were HUGE, and we feel like every punk should take their time in falling in love with the legacy…

Yotam has his solo project where he tours the world, do any of the other members of Useless ID still play in other bands or projects?

Corey still had Kids Insane and Mondo Gecko (while doing SPIT with Yotam)…
Me and Guy, We don't play other than Useless ID.

Useless ID is probably one of the best known Middle Eastern punk bands, but it seems like the scene is growing. Who should we check on the world wide punkweb?

It's always important to check out the best 2 Israeli punk bands, Not On Tour and Kids Insane.

Any last words you want to share

We will be back.