FESTIVAL DIARY: AMANDA'S GROEZROCK

Friday 22/4/11

Being the lazy, sleepy type, I didn't see any bands until 3pm. Admittedly, they didn't start 'til 1, but that's hardly the point. If you're going to start a festival slightly late in the day however, Rufio are a brilliant band to begin with. The mainstage is relatively full for their set, opening with 'Science Fiction' and power-popping its way through to closer 'Angel Above Me'. Never having been a particularly big fan, I wasn't a real part of the mass singalongs and the incredible amount of bromance around me (a recurring event over the weekend I can assure you), but I still thoroughly enjoyed myself. Rufio are a solid live band, with great personality and catchy songs.

 After running (literally) to the second stage, it was time for Twin Atlantic. I love this band. A lot. They didn't disappoint, playing a fair few songs from upcoming album 'Free', including the wonderful title track, interspersed with classics from previous album 'Vivarium'. The tent was far from full, but the enthusiasm of the people pushing into the front half of the crowd more than made up for it.

 After a two hour break it was time for the set I was probably most excited about all weekend - Thursday playing their classic album 'Full Collapse' in its entirety. The second stage tent was full to bursting, everyone crowding in to hide from the inexplicable heavy rain storms which were breaking up the otherwise lovely weather and eager to see a masterpiece recreated onstage. The energy of the crowd, and the band, never faltered, from the opening notes of 'Understanding In A Car Crash'. The pace really picks up midway through the set however, as Rickly and his cohorts launch into 'Autobiography of a Nation' and a pit breaks out to rival anything else I'd see over the whole weekend, on the second stage at least. By the time they finish, crooning the end of 'How Long Is The Night', everyone leaves with a grin plastered across their face.
  
From Thursday I moved over to the third stage for the first time, a tiny tent with no barrier which seems the perfect setting for Cancer Bats. Another band I've never really counted myself a fan of, but the crowd reaction adds another dimension to their admittedly exciting live show.

 Returning to the second stage, it was finally time to see one of my favourite bands of all time for the first time since September. Every Time I Die's first show of 2011 picks up much where they left off last year, with high energy and humour propelling a set filled with the best of four of their albums (as usual, 'Last Night In Town' goes unrepresented). It's hardly shocking that 'Bored Stiff' and 'The New Black' are among the best-received songs, but I can't help wishing that the crowd had been a little more enthusiastic - an ETID party is nothing if you're the only one losing your mind.

 With the excitement of ETID over with, I wandered over to the main stage for the end of the evening. Hatebreed play to a packed tent, with pits breaking out all over the place and people moshing their way in to the tent as their set begins. It's quite a sight to see from the back, with the crowd shots on the big screen revealing just how crazy the front half of the tent really is. As always, they play a good mix of old and new, encouraging their fans to look after each other in the pit and shout along. Loudly.

To end a day of sun, rain, friends and alcohol, who better than Flogging Molly? Everyone dances, everyone sings, and everyone pours themselves back into their tents to get some much needed sleep before the early start on Saturday.
 
Saturday 23/4/11

Saturday presented my biggest issue with the whole weekend. There were FAR too many clashes, with nearly every band I wanted to see beginning before the end of each other. Equally frustrating was the crowd distribution - the main stage was empty for most of the day, with the exception of Goldfinger, and boysetsfire onwards, whilst the second and third stage were full to overflow almost all day.

 All this aside, Dead To Me did a good job of waking up the tired and hungover few who made it to the mainstage by 11am. Squeezing a frankly ridiculous number of songs into a half-hour set, they are lively and entertaining. After wandering between bands for a little while (catching some of Blacklist Royals and Gravemaker, and enjoying the hospitality of Epitaph in the process), I returned to the mainstage for the wonderful Piebald. Whilst it is a shame to see such a brilliant band playing to so small a crowd, they hardly seem to have noticed it themselves. With crowd favourite 'American Hearts' early in the set, they sound great and seem to really be enjoying being back onstage together.

Next up were Dear Landlord, playing to an overflowing third stage who hung on their every word and rarely left the stage unpopulated for a moment. With little banter and a lot of songs, their live show is absolutely stunning.

 I wish I could say the same for Sugarcult, a band I've loved for a long time. Admittedly the sound doesn't do them any favours, and the mainstage is sparsely populated once again, but it really felt that something was lacking from their show. All the classics were there however, and the singalong to 'Bouncing Off The Walls' was beautiful.

 After a quick food break during Goldfinger (I know, I know), it was time for the second Thursday set of the weekend, a chance for the band to showcase tracks from their stunning new album 'No Devolucion'. Clearly the fact that the set had been advertised as such had driven away a great many of the fans who had watched 'Full Collapse' so enthusiastically, but once again the band rises above it and plays a stunningly energetic and moving set of old and new, which hits a high point with the insanity of 'At This Velocity'.
  
Relaxing in the sun outside the third stage, I 'saw' No Trigger, another band who were met with an overflow of people too great to fit in to the tent. Their sound is good, the energy is impressive, but the lacklustre response to new material is noticeable even from outside.

 Back at the mainstage, now beginning to fill up rather nicely, boysetsfire return to music with a bang. Despite missing my personal favourite song, 'After The Eulogy', there is little to fault with their performance, and 'Requiem' is a highlight of the weekend.

 It's been clear all weekend that there are two bands everyone is really excited for - one is tonight's headliners, NOFX, and the other is The Descendents. Playing a rare live show, they treat the rowdy masses to an hour of non-stop hits and faultless performance.

By contrast, Saves The Day is a relatively civilised affair. The second stage is verging towards emptiness, but the few who are crowded together at the barrier are clearly passionate. New tracks get a lukewarm reaction, but the hits are never far away. From 'Firefly' to 'At Your Funeral' via 'Freakish', it's a nice way to spend an hour if nothing else.

Despite being only seconds away from the third stage and being there a good ten minutes before they're due on, we don't have a chance of making it inside the tent for H2O. Every inch of space is filled, and the rows of people outside are crammed tightly together as they try to see it. A typical set, the crowd go wild for everything from '1995' to 'Guilty By Association', but it is closer 'What Happened?' which sees a mass stage invasion and singalongs spreading back to back row outside in the rain.

I won't lie - I watched three songs of NOFX and hated it. I'm not a fan, and their sense of humour doesn't appeal me. So really, my weekend ended at H2O, and I am more than OK with that.

Amanda

LIVE REVIEW: FUNERAL FOR A FRIEND

Funeral For A Friend

Liverpool O2 Academy 2

27/3/11

Welsh heroes Funeral For A Friend have all but sold out the smaller of Liverpool’s Academy venues, and the vast majority of the crowd are early enough to catch tonight’s openers, Tiger Please. Playing well, Tiger Please are well received and seem relatively popular with the throng of people watching.

Up next are Rise To Remain. The crowd seem interested, but their performance (to this reviewer at least) is a little uninspired. Technically the band are strong, but they fail to capture the imagination in a lasting way.

By the time Funeral For A Friend take to the stage the Academy is almost overflowing. Greeting the riotous crowd with classics ‘Roses For The Dead’ and ‘Rookie Of The Year’, it instantly becomes clear that the fans remain obsessed with Funeral’s past work. Tracks from the new album are incredibly strong live, but the crowd react moderately in comparison to the reception which ‘Juneau’ receives.

There are some who sing enthusiastically to ‘Serpents In Solitude’ and ‘Front Row Seats’, but they are clearly in the minority tonight. This in no way detracts from the band’s performance. The boyos are energetic and lively, encouraging crowd interaction and bouncing around like 15 year olds.

The evening ends with a mass singalong to ‘Escape Artists Never Die’, and it’s difficult to find fault with the headliners’ performance. If anything, all we can ask is that people give the new album more of a chance. It’s really quite good. And with live shows as enjoyable as tonight, it’s fair to assume that Funeral For A Friend are going to remain a feature of the UK scene for a long time to come.

Amanda

LIVE REVIEW: THE SWELLERS

The Swellers 
Manchester Academy 2
Friday 8.4.11


The Swellers have been to the UK twice within the last six months and although they’re becoming increasingly popular, it’s a wonder they haven’t done their own headline tour yet.
 
Despite an incredible last album (2009's 'Ups and Downsizing') and relentless touring in the US, UK fans still haven’t really caught onto them. 


Tonight’s academy 2 gig is sold out due to the fact that the headlining act is The Blackout. It’s refreshing to see The Swellers set up their own gear before opening with Do You Feel Better Yet?. 


With each song the crowd become more and more rapturous and when singer, Nick Diener introduces a new song as “the best song ever written” they can hardly contain themselves causing possibly the biggest circle pit academy 2 has ever seen. 


The band is confident and energetic, genuinely happy to be in Manchester. They play a set that is mostly from ‘Ups and Downsizing’ and when they throw in an older song (Bottles), you definitely start to get excited about the prospect of a new album.


Highlights include, 2009, Welcome back Riders, and Fire Away. By the time they’re done, there’s no need to watch The Blackout. They will only disappoint after a set like this.


Antonia

INTERVIEW: TRUE THINGS

True Things are a pop punk band from New Jersey. Their current album, 'Alone in My Room' is out now on Bandcamp and they've just started work on their next album. Singer, James Corbi chatted to NEW KICKS about what the band is up to at the moment.


How are you doing? What's happening with True Things at the moment?

 

I'm doing fine. At the moment we're working on a lot of new songs. We start pre-production demoing with Jake Clarke from Daylight this coming weekend, we're all really excited about that.

 

For those people in the UK who haven't heard you, could you give a brief history of your band.

 

Well Brandon and I met a few years back playing in our old band. We both parted ways but stayed in touch with each other. I had been working on demos for a while and asked him if he was interested in pursuing them and he agreed. We later asked Gabe and Bob to join on guitar. They agreed as well. 



 

You used to sing in I Call Fives. Why did that come to an end?

 

It's honestly like opening pandora's box with that issue. Let's just say we weren't getting along.

What was your main aim when starting True Things?

 

To create a band that had more layers than anything I/ we've ever done before. Something that was a genuine influence. We're all extremely excited to be releasing new material. Listeners are not expecting it at all.




According to your Myspace page your music sounds "like breaking up with your first girlfriend." Are your songs generally about personal experiences?


 

On the first record, yes. Even on the newer songs too. I was just really hung up on some stupid shit back then.

 

What inspires you to write?

 

I was just explaining to a friend of mine recently that I have had very little inspiration since I haven't really been dealing with anything that heavy lately. But he definitely made me realise there's a lot going on around me I should be taking that into account and maybe focus on that for a while. It has made things easier the past few days of working on new songs.





Have you started work on your next album yet? If so, what can we expect?

 

Yes. We're going to be recording a full length record 13+ songs to be released sometime in the near future. Tracking will be taking place June 2011.




What are your favourite experiences of playing shows and where are your favourite places to play?

 

Cincinnati, Columbus and Cleveland Ohio hands down. Ohio as a whole. We've got a lot of great friends out there and kids are very supportive of us; especially since we haven't been a band that long. Plus Ohio kids come out to shows, as opposed to other scenes. I have a lot of love for Texas and Omaha, Nebraska too. Two of the most underrated scenes in my opinion. New Jersey, Philadelphia, and Wilkes-Barre, PA are all backed extremely hard as well.



Who are your major musical influences, both as a band and individually?

 

We all have very similar yet diverse influences. Ranging from American Nightmare to Big L to Supertouch to Katy Perry. We're all fans of 90's Straight Edge Hardcore, New York Hardcore, Punk, Alternative/Hard Rock and Rap/Hip Hop. If we had to say what influenced this band it would be an extremely hard question since none of the material we have out besides a couple faster songs resemble anything close to what was just mentioned. We're really excited to release new songs. It will really define our sound and our influences will become a lot more apparent.    




Can you recommend some bands to us that we may not have heard over here yet?

Honestly, UK/Europe is way more on top of new music than America. I'm sure if i just heard that band today you guys heard about them two weeks before I did.

 

 If I could just recommend one album it would be Cold Cave's 'Cherish The Light Years'.

When are you guys going to come to the UK? We can't wait to see you play!

 

I would love to say soon but airfare is extremely expensive as well as all the other expenses we'd have to cover. We'll see what 2011 brings.




What's next for True Things? Any exciting plans to tell us about?

 

New records and summer tour dates definitely.





Antonia
Interview: 5/4/11

Interview: No Trigger

It's going to be a good year for melodic punk band No Trigger. Since 2006's Canyoneer, they released 7” EP Be Honest, signed to No Sleep Records and are now in the process of recording their second full-length studio album. We caught up with guitarist, Jon for a chat about signing to No Sleep, crashing webstores and what we can expect from the forthcoming album...

Can you tell us what you're up to right now?

We just got back from our first Australian Tour. It was our first time making it over there and it was one of the best tours to date. Such an amazing response after not having any shows for about three years now. We can't wait to get back there. Next month we will be heading to Europe as well for a string of headline dates as well as playing this year's GroezRock Festival in Belgium.

We hear you're planning on releasing an album sometime this year. Are you in the process of writing/ recording this now?

Yes we are. The writing process is always a long one with us. Probably the longest out of any band ever actually. We are so excited to finally get these songs out. We have been working on this record for about 4 years now. Everyone has been extremely busy with their day to day lives, but when it comes to the writing, we are giving it our all.

What attracted you to No Sleep Records?

No Sleep Records was the perfect match for us. We wanted to feel like we were a part of a family-style record label. These guys are young, ambitious and are doing it right. They have terrific bands on board and will not stop working to put out your next favorite band. We couldn't be happier.

What can we expect from the album?

With 4 years of writing and compiling our songs, you can expect the next No Trigger record to be steps above Canyoneer. We felt like we gave it our all with that record. I think that's why it has taken us so long to get this one out. It being the only full length any of our members recorded at the time, this next record is filled with six + years of growing not only as individuals but musicians as well.

How did the decision to release Be Honest on 7" format come about? Are any of you collectors?

The idea came to push some of the stuff we have been working on for our deserving fans to see what we have been up to. With finally doing this next record, we wanted to get some excitement and anticipation going. Even for ourselves! It was great to get everyone back into the studio and get those tracks down. Vinyl has had such an amazing response with this generation and we have never done a 7''. It worked out really well.

What was the reaction to the EP like?

We released "Be Honest" with Mightier Than Sword. We have known RJ (of MTS records) for a while and he has worked with some bands that are really close to us. He sparked a lot of interest in helping us out with the release. We couldn't have asked for anything more than for what MTS offered. We even crashed the MTS webstore when pre-orders were announced. Apparently, the Blink 182 releases didn't even do that! That's pretty monumental.

How does the songwriting process work for you? Do you all write together?

It takes all of us in a room to develop how our songs come to life. We are always going back and re-working songs until we all are super comfortable with them. It is quite a long process, but it's worth it. We have been doing things a little differently with this record. Since everyone is so busy, there is more time focused on structuring and developing with one another rather than as a whole.

Do you all have similar musical tastes?

We sure do. We have all grown up together and have always been involved in the same music scene. Whenever someone finds a new band they are stoked on, everyone gets stoked on them. There's never an issue with No Trigger's playlists. Want one?!

Who are the band's main influences and who are yours?

We grew up on the Fat Wreck Chords, Epitaph scene. All those bands from the 90's and early 2000's I would say form our main influences. We were actually invited to play Good Riddance's final three shows in California back in '07. That and recording with Bill Stevenson (Descendents, Black Flag etc) were pinnacle points for No Trigger.

My main influences stem from growing up on a very music oriented family. My mom introducing me to Def Leppard and Billy Squier, Dad showing me how to play Smoke On The Water by Deep Purple, to me discovering punk from Green Day to Nofx. I'm influenced by anything that gives you that feeling of passion through the music.

Are you planning on coming to the UK when the album is released?

Absolutely! We love coming to the UK. Be on the lookout. We have been talking about our next UK tour and can't wait to get over there.

What do you particularly enjoy about touring?

Touring for us is like a vacation. We make sure to visit anything from state parks to national monuments on all our tours. We are sightseers. Getting to do all this while meeting new people and playing our music for them is the best ever.

Do you have any favourite places to play?

Gainesville Florida's No Idea Fest, Australia, and can't forget you guys over in the UK!

Do you think the UK and US crowds differ in any obvious ways?

You guys go nuts in the UK! I don't know if it's the water or what, maybe the cheap beers too. But seriously, the appreciation is much more emphasized in foreign crowds. It's almost like you never know when that band will be back so you have to give it your all. Tom (singer) and I flew out to California years ago when we heard Randy was making their first appearance to the states. We had a blast.

Which songs get the best reaction when you play live and do these reflect your favourite ones to play?

With only one record and an EP to work with we try to mold our set the best we can. The heavy fun hitters for me would be Not So Noble Purveyors, More to Offer and Tundra Kids. We get requests for older songs and try to have everything under our belts just in case!

Are there any bands you're listening to at the moment that you think more people should know about?

Make sure to check out Such Gold! Those guys just embarked their first world tour and are killing it right now. I've been rocking Balance & Composure and a lot of older stuff like Rage and Live. Never forget your roots.

Check out No Trigger at www.myspace.com/notrigger


By Claire

COMING SOON: NO TRIGGER INTERVIEW!

"You can expect the next No Trigger record to be steps above Canyoneer."

PROPAGANDHI INTERVIEW

Todd Kowalski is the bassist and singer for Canadian punk band Propagandhi. Kowalski has been heavily involved in the punk scene since 1986 when he started his first band, I Spy. He joined Propagandhi in 1997 and speaks out against various issues such as animal cruelty and inequality. NEW KICKS caught up with Todd to find out what's going on in the world of Propagandhi.




What is going on with Propagandhi at the moment?


Well we just finished playing Riot Fest in Chicago which was cool because we got to see the original C.O.C. line up! They were great. We have a split 7" coming our with Canada's thrash gods SACRIFICe, who've been a favourite of ours since we were kids. The songs on the record are killer so we're stoked! For the last year we've been working pretty hard on new songs. They're going really well. We're in a pretty good state right now with tons of music on the go. Now's time for the hard part-the lyrics.


How does it feel to have been making music for over 20 years? 


Good. Actually we're happier than ever because we can play better and we're having a good time practising every day of the week. We still have visions that need to come to fruition so we carry on happily.


Your song ‘Ladies’ Nite In Loserville’ really had a huge impact on me as a teenager. How does it feel when you hear that your music has encouraged people into things like feminism?


That's cool, Antonia. I'm glad you got something out of that tune. I'm really happy to hear that some people are turned on to new or different ideas because of one or a few of our songs. I really appreciate it because that's what happened for me as well. I learned a lot from some older bands.


On your latest album Supporting Caste, the song ‘Human(e) Meat (The Flensing of Sandor Katz)’ apparently led to Katz claiming that you’d threatened him. Can you explain a little about the ideas behind the song?


I think Sandor was getting a little defensive because his full of holes position was being questioned. I'm sure he never took the song as any threat, no rational human being would. The song is clearly a satirical parallel of one of chapter of his book. We just used his rational of "humane" killing and made him the fictional recipient of the treatment to show how inhumane it really is. If humane killing was really OK with him he'd have had no reaction whatsoever. I do like Sandor Katz much more than I like Winnipeg’s mayor Sam Katz. Now that's a total jerk off!


Your music is always very politically driven but also very tongue-in-cheek at times. Do you think it’s important to deliver a message to people in a way that makes them laugh but also makes them listen? Do you often find that people interpret your songs in a different way than you meant them?


I guess some people feel the need to laugh while they're listening to songs. I don't necessarily feel it's important to make people laugh but we have more than one aspect to our personalities and they filter their way into our songs. Sometimes you wake up feeling mad, sometimes, sad, sometimes you don't know what to do but laugh things off. Perhaps the humour adds some levity for people, or maybe they can get more of where we're coming from when they see that we're not just dark tormented weirdos. The songs are very often misinterpreted and misunderstood or the lyrics completely ignored. However people want to take a song is fine. We just do our thing and if someone listens or takes something from it then that's good because we believe that we're coming from an angle that respects other people and nature. There's so many forces going in the opposite direction right now.


You’ve been together for more than two decades. In that time you’ve written about racism, feminism, animal rights and a lot of other social injustices. Over the years what have been the most positive changes you’ve seen in society?


Sadly, I think the world’s getting worse and worse so I'm not sure how to answer that. I guess the most positive thing would be that there's many, many people are trying to help educate or empower others to do things to help themselves. Whether it's better farming practices, or building schools for kids, or helping people get access to information.


Proceeds from the pre-release downloads of Supporting Caste went towards some organisations that you, as a band, support. Which organisations would you encourage people to look into? 


Well, I'll list three good ones here that I hope people will check out: Doctors Without Borders, Women For Women, Dignitas International. 


How long have you been vegan and what inspired you to look into it in the first place? 


I've been vegan since about 1993 or so, I think.. maybe longer? I was vegetarian in January 1992 so that's 18 years. I love animals and I don't like to harm anyone or anything unnecessarily. In 1991 I lived with a guy from India who was vegetarian. It looked really easy and I liked the idea so I just did what he did. He thought I wouldn't last more than a week. Ha ha. But it was really, really simple. I've never ever missed meat. In fact I'd rather eat shit.


Animal testing is still a major practice in the cosmetics industry. What are your views on this and do you think people turn a blind eye out of ignorance or laziness?


People will do anything so they don't have to change themselves and they will turn a bind eye to anything that infringes on their convenience. I'm losing faith in people. Most people are definitely lazy and self centred. People will let other people die for them. They won't even change tiny simple things about themselves to save the lives of others. It's really pathetic and sad if you really think about it. I find it strange that you'd accept that an animal should die so you can have rosy cheeks.




What preliminary steps do you think people can take in order to live cruelty free lives? 


I think the best and easiest step is to stop eating meat. It's totally 100% simple, easy and direct. The idea is clear and the means of accomplishing the task are satisfying and liberating. I felt instantly happier when I stopped eating that crap, the only downside is that if you recognize how easy it is you start to feel a bit of sadness that others don't follow that path as well. So many animals are being raised, abused, and killed for no good reason. I think about it a lot.


Did you start the band in order to get your messages out there or was the band originally about making music?


I think we all have ideas that we need to say. Even when I was a kid I was writing lyrics about the things that bothered me whether it be other kids or how society sucked. Ha ha. Some people feel a need to write love songs, some of us feel a desperate need to write the types of songs we write. It's who we are and what we think about.


In the beginning Propagandhi and I Spy toured together. Was it a natural progression for your members to join forces?


I suppose. It's cool to have a band with a couple song writers. It's fun to see what the other people will come up with. I really like Chris's songs so I'm happy to play them and see if I can add things to them here and there. As long as a song is ripping, creative and moves us in some way then we're all in to it!


What do you do when you’re not writing, touring or recording?


I like to draw and do a lot of art, I volunteer with refugee kids in an after school program. That used to be my job but touring got in the way with that. I've got a couple other things in the works that will help make the world a little better for some people. I'm hesitant to blab about it right now in case it doesn't work out. I try to get some exercise when I can. Ha ha.


What prompted you to start the G7 Welcoming Committee label? And what happened with Fat Wreck?


Chris and Jord started G7 to promote bands they liked and thought were worthwhile for people to check out. They wanted to do a different kind of record label that was actually about music and art. Of course that's pretty tough in an "industry" that is such a joke. We just outgrew Fat or something. We weren't really into what was happening there and we just wanted to go our own way. It paid off because we are much better on our own.


You’ve been around for years now. What do you think of the punk scene at the moment and the newer bands? 


There's a lot of good bands in the underground scene. The more mainstream bands are really, really terrible, and these Warped Tour type commercial shows are horrible. I'm not so much into the way music is gobbled up these days with ring tones and downloading. That's just not my thing. It's really boring. I'd rather get the records and see what the band was really up to. I can't say I'm really feeling a lot of the punk scene because so many bands are absolutely meaningless and have no sonic appeal for me. I'm just not interested. I don't like retro bands and I don't like kids with beards pretending they’re truckers or rednecks. Haha. So that's pretty much every band out the door right there. 


Off the top of my head there are only a handful of punk bands I can think of that use their music to comment on social issues. What is your opinion on this? Do you think a lot of bands waste their voice?


That's pathetic for a punk scene. It shows how all those bands in the early nineties going to major labels and watering punk down to nothing really did kill it. It's very hard for me to relate now. when I think of music and bands and music history I feel like I'm not in step with what other people are seeing or valuing. I'm not saying that to try to sound special or cool. It all just truly confuses me. As a music lover I find it sort of depressing. I do search for new bands all the time and I'm not stuck in the past but there's a lot of discouraging things out there. I don't think the bands are wasting their voice because they clearly have nothing to say or they'd say it. Their voice is their meaninglessness, I guess. It screams loud and clear to my ear.


In the UK at the moment we have a coalition Conservative-Liberal Democrat government. What do you think of our country’s political situation?

Oh jeez. It's pathetic everywhere. Maybe I'm answering this on a bad day or something but I'm starting to feel a bit bummed out by it all. Politicians and media outlets trying to steer people down crazy paths and blame all the wrong people for the problems. Britain, Canada, and the U.S. are plunging so far in the hole mentally. I don't know what's ever going to bring us out of it. People just want convenience, comfort and low taxes, they don't care what the expense is. The parties are all similar and are completely infiltrated and used by large corporations. It's a truly unbelievable situation that would surprise and terrify George Orwell if he was alive today.


Do you enjoy touring and do you have any plans to come back to the UK?


We enjoy touring in little spurts so we can do our best at every show. I think at the end of last year we were burning out a bit. We came back to the fray recently with a new plan and way of attacking our shows that seemed to really pay off for us enjoyment wise. So we're eager to hit the stage again. I guess there's bound to be ups and downs when you play for so many years. These days, at least while we're playing and practising there's more ups than downs. We'll bring the new and improved show back to the UK when we have a new record out. Until then we're sort of grounded here in Winnipeg.


What can we expect from G7 Welcoming Committee in the near future?
Probably just the next Propagandhi record for the next little while. We're all really busy doing our thing and rocking as hard as we can. 


Thanks so much for talking to us. It’s much appreciated.


Thank you, Antonia.


This interview was first published in Lights Go Out issue 11 which is available to buy here. 

Propagandhi's Todd Kowalski: "We're not just dark tormented weirdos!"

COMING SOON:
PROPAGANDHI'S TODD KOWALSKI TALKS TO NEW KICKS.

Taking Back Sunday UK Tour

Taking Back Sunday have announced a UK tour in May.

Tickets go on sale on Friday 11th March at 9am. The dates are as follows:

12 May – Southampton Guildhall
13 May - Manchester Academy 1
14 May - Nottingham Rock City
16 May - Glasgow Barrowlands
17 May - Liverpool 02 Academy
18 May - Bath Pavilion
20 May - London Roundhouse

Mayday Parade Tour Dates

Mayday Parade will return to the UK in May for a string of shows. Catch them on the following dates:

Mon 16 May - Milton Keynes The Pitz

Tues 17 May - Kingston The Peel

Wed 18 May - Leicester Sub 91

Thurs 19 May - Yeovil Orange Box

Sat 21 May - Liverpool Liverpool Sound City – The Hub

Sun 22 May - Cardiff Solus

Mon 23 May - Nottingham Rescue Rooms

Tues 24 May - Glasgow Garage

Wed 25 May - Manchester Academy 2

Thurs 26 May - London Koko

Fri 27 May - Birmingham Academy 2

Sat 28 May - Leeds Slamdunk Festival, Leeds

Sun 29 May - London Slamdunk Festival, Hatfield

Mon 30 May - Oxford Academy 2

Tues 31 May - Norwich Waterfront

Wed 1 June - Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms

New Paramore Songs in the Pipeline




New Paramore Press Shot

 
Paramore are set to release several songs over the summer, according to frontwoman, Hayley Williams.

The songs will be the first material the band has released since the departure of guitarist Josh Farro and his brother Josh (drums) in December.

Speaking to AOL Hayley said: "All the details aren't worked out yet, but we definitely do want to release In the Mourning and some other ones before we put out a proper album."

The band also released a new promo photograph featuring just the three remaining members.

Death Cab For Cutie Announce Album Release Date

A release date of May 31st has been announced for the seventh album by Washington's Death Cab For Cutie.

Bassist, Nick Harmer spoke about the album, 'Codes And Keys': "This is our seventh album and now, almost fifteen years in, it's still really exciting to get back in the studio. There's still so much musical territory to cover together."

The Get Up Kids Release New Album

The Get Up Kids have announced details of their fifth studio album entitled 'There Are Rules.'

The album will be released on February 28th, seven years after what was believed to be their last album, 'Guilt Show.'

The band have worked with producers Ed Rose and Bob Weston, who recorded their debut 'Four Minute Mile' hinting at a return to their earlier sound.

Front man, Matt Pryor said: "This record came together really organically.  We'd throw out an idea and if it didn't work after 30 minutes we'd scrap it and move on to another one.  We all wrote together really spontaneously and then fleshed it out with Ed in the studio."

All Time Low New Album

All Time Low singer, Alex Gaskarth has confirmed that the band won't be releasing their new album in March.However, he said they will release new songs including 'Time Bomb', a song that they have already been playing at shows.

Alex said, "Interscope’s going through some “restructuring” and unfortunately some records were pushed back so as not to get caught up in the confusion… We fall in that category. We’re so close though."

Travis Barker Finally Answers Blink 182 Questions

Travis Barker has spoken about the release of the upcoming Blink 182 album after his previous comments left fans baffled as to when the record would come out.

Speaking to MTV, Barker said:

"You know, it's hard, because we would get home from a tour, and then Tom's side project would go out, his side project comes back, he's back now, he's ready to get in the lab, [and] I'm about to say, 'Peace out, I'm about to do my thing.'

"So it's like, when we're in a room together for more than a month or two, it's gonna really happen. I mean, up until the last album, every album was written in a week. All of us had ideas, we would come, we would get into a room, we'd go, 'OK, you want to write the album?' And we'd write those songs, and then we'd record them the next week.

"Now ... we all have studios, we all have the luxury of staying home and doing it, and we don't have to get into a room to get an idea out or pay for a studio. So a lot of it's going down. Like, we're working in separate studios, just really kind of working on music."

Slam Dunk Line Up Revealed



Less Than Jake



Less Than Jake and Reel Big Fish have been confirmed as this years headliners for Slam Dunk Festival.

The 10th anniversary of the Leeds based festival will also feature The Starting Line, 3oh3!, Mayday Parade, Framing Hanley and MC Lars.

Playing Slam dunk for the first time are UK bands Deaf Havana and We Are the Ocean.

Slam Dunk founder, Ben Ray said:

“Being the 10^th anniversary of Slam Dunk it was important for me to have a lineup that truly represents the way the scene has evolved over the last 10 years. I am extremley happy to have some of the bands that inspired me to start the club night from which the festival evolved from."

Panic! At The Disco Release First Album in Three Years

Panic! At the Disco have released details of their highly anticipated third album, 'Vices & Virtues'.

The album will be released on March 21st and the band have shot the video for the first single which is entitled The Ballad of Mona Lisa.

The album will be their first in three years and to celebrate, the band have announced two shows; one in New York and one in London. Don't bother trying to get tickets though because both sold out in under an hour!

Singer Brendon Urie said: "It's been a long time coming... But we're really excited about the songs."

VersaEmerge UK Tour / Album

VersaEmerge have announced that their debut album, 'Fixed At Zero' will be released in the UK on February 7th.

The band will also be touring the UK with pop punk band We The Kings at the following dates:

 

Fri 4 Feb       Oxford Academy 2

Sat 5 Feb       Leeds Cockpit

Sun 6 Feb       Newcastle Academy 2

Tues 8 Feb      Glasgow Garage

Wed 9 Feb       Liverpool Stanley Theatre

Fri 11 Feb      Manchester Club Academy 3

Sat 12 Feb      Birmingham Academy 2

Sun 13 Feb      Norwich Waterfront

Mon 14 Feb      Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms

Tues 15 Feb     London Electric Ballroom

The Swellers

Flint, Michigan punk band The Swellers are currently on tour in the UK with Young Guns. Despite initial problems (missed flights, illness and cancelled shows), the band have made the most of their British experience. Drummer Jonathan Diener explains to New Kicks why they wouldn't want to be anywhere else...

How's the tour going so far?

The tour has been an amazing and adventurous experience for us. We missed our first show due to airline trouble in the states, played one show, then Young Guns had to cancel four shows in a row. This left us with the only option of getting replacement shows with 24 hours notice, which worked surprisingly well. We finished the shows with Young Guns, Japanese Voyeurs and two with Set Your Goals and had a complete blast. Loved everyone we've played with so far and the cities we've been in.

Have you had the chance to see much of the UK or is it just playing shows and moving on?

This time we were much more prepared on all accounts and finally got to explore places like London with a lot of history. Walked across Abbey Road like complete tourists, took pictures in front of Buckingham Palace, the usual cliche stuff that we've always wanted to do. We even played two shows that day but finally made time to have fun and walk around. We usually unwillingly walk around towns while we're looking for food haha.

Do you find UK crowds to be any different to US ones?

I think UK crowds are more appreciative with the mindset that we're not already coming back next month, which is one thing that can kind of kill it for attendance in the States. It all depends on the type of tour as well. With Young Guns it was definitely a younger crowd who heard of us from touring with Paramore and then headliner shows are punk rock kids and people who saw us last time we played the UK on the Give It A Name tour. Whether people stand still or stage dive, we're just happy to be overseas and living our dream.

A couple of the Young Guns shows were cancelled due to illness. How did that affect you guys?

Financially it changed things a bit, and our morale for a bit but again, we're here to have fun and play our songs. It doesn't matter who we play to, we just want to keep going and play shows. Another band we were with canceled 3 of their shows, and the band on our headliner shows dropped off.. so it seems almost every band in the UK are canceling shows for any reason they can haha.

You and Nick are vegan. Do you struggle finding vegan friendly food on tour?

I'm not vegan, but I'm very very vegetarian. Nick is completely vegan while I still eat things like chocolate muffins. After touring for over 5 years it really isn't hard at all to eat on tour. Eating WELL is a different story, but even the meat eaters still eat fried garbage. Touring over here is harder because it's almost like our first tour, but it's so easy to find things like falafel at service stations or veggie burgers at every kebab shop. I suggest everyone try it, it's quite easy if you care enough.

When you finish this tour you will be starting work on your new album. How do you go about starting a new album? What are the processes involved?

A lot of people don't realize that we are ALWAYS writing new songs. The second we finished recording the last record we were already messing around with song ideas. It's all about what comes naturally to us. We never force ourselves to write which is why it takes a bit of time for an album to be completely written. If there is any part we're not sure of in a song, we immediately take it out to make sure we have the song that we like completely, which I feel a lot of bands just try to kill time in songs and albums.

Do you already have songs for the new album?

We definitely have songs, but we'll be talking about that at a later date when we can announce more.

Your last record, ‘Ups And Downsizing’ was very clearly inspired by your experiences of recession. Will there be a theme on the new album or is it just a case of writing and seeing what comes out?

We didn't really try to make the theme for the last record, we just write about things that directly affect our lives. Since the last record a lot has changed for Nick and I as far as our personal lives like moving to a new house. I think lyrically we're trying to experiment more with storytelling so again we'll be able to talk about it closer to when we record!

You and Nick are always mentioning your home town of Flint, Michigan. Do you really miss it when you’re touring?

Having a place you call our home is really important to us. All of our friends live there or close to it. It's just one of those things when you're stuck with 3-5 other guys in a van at close proximity nonstop, have to listen to music overnight because people snore, sleep on floors, wait to shower... You just want to sit on your couch all day by yourself or with your girlfriend. After a tour it's such a nice feeling to just relax. We grew up going to Flint for the mall and music venue, played our first show there, and now Nick and I live by all of it so it's very cool. A lot of great things there.

What’s the scene like back home?

There used a to be a huge thriving music scene, but our local venue The Flint Local 432 closed down right when we started touring. It's a lot harder to bring people to shows or book shows in the city, but our friends have been trying and it's so nice to see that spark again. There have always been great bands to come out of our area, and it'll be so nice if the scene can thrive again so I don't have to drive an hour to Detroit to see shows every week haha.

What’s been your personal highlight of 2010?

My personal highlight was being able to come overseas to Europe/UK for the first time. Didn't know we'd be taking two more trips over to do each of them again after... that's 3 overseas tours in one year. Pretty badass in my opinion. Also doing Warped Tour was a very great experience for all of us. So many friends and so many new friends. We hope we can play it again next year.

What’s your favourite song to play live and why?

I love playing Watch It Go because my drum parts remind me a lot of The Descendents, which has my favorite drummer, Bill Stevenson in it. I also love the technical stuff I get to do in Welcome Back Riders because it has almost every type of genre in it. Watching the crowd sing along and air drum is one of the coolest things.

Aside from the new record, what’s the plan for 2011?

The only plan so far is to tour a ton and travel the globe to play places like Australia, Japan, anywhere we can play we can. We want this next record to be a big step up for us on all levels so we hope that people are ready to go on the journey with us. 2011 is about to get crazy.


Antonia

Patrick Stump Posts New Songs

Patrick Stump has posted two versions of a new song, 'Spotlight' on his website asking fans to vote for which one should go on his album.

"I recorded two separate versions of Spotlight and after months I still can't decide which one should go on the record. If you've got a minute, please take a listen and let me know which one you prefer."

Make your choice here.