stencil 5
SKINDRED
NOT ADVISED SENSES FAIL REEL BIG FISH FUTURES UNDERCOLOUR YOUR DEMISE TIGER PLEASE DON BROCO A DAY TO REMEMBER THE MAINE FOUR YEAR STRONG YOUR DEMISE
HAPPY NEW YEAR! WE DIDN’T TAKE TOO MANY PICTURES OVER CHRISTMAS SO WE HAD TO PULL ONE FROM THE ARCHIVES (2006)! WE HAVE A STACK OF UPCOMING BANDS FOR YOU TO CHECK OUT! IN SHORT 2011 IS ANOTHER GREAT YEAR FOR MUSIC, SO DIVE IN AND CHECK OUT SOMETHING NEW TODAY!! OH AND WE HAVE AN AWESOME INTERVIEW FROM STORM THORGERSON WHO DOES GRAPHICS FOR BANDS LIKE PINK FLOYD! PLEASE NOTE SOME OF THESE INTERVIEWS WERE CONDUCTED IN THE YEAR 2010!
NOT ADVISED Interview with Jack Fairbrother
What have you guys been up to since we last spoke ? (Issue2) We completed our first real UK headline tour, which was incredible. We've released a second single "Right Now" and released a video which we're extremely proud of. We've also started working on our debut album.
Can you describe your sound to readers that may still be unfamiliar with your music? Anthemic, British pop rock. Rather than try and describe what our band sounds like i'd encourage people to have a listen to on Spotify for free and see what they think.
What can you tell us about your latest single 'Right Now' ? Right Now is out now, it's our second single and we feel that the song and accompanying video are a great introduction to our band. Personally its my favourite Not Advised song and is always fun to play live.
How excited are you about your February UK tour dates ? and what can attending fans expect? We've never been more excited about a tour. We loved our first headline tour in August, this time we're stepping it up. We're going to be playing the longest set we ever have, including some brand new tracks. We don't want to give away too much but it's definitely going to be a step up.
How great was it to have on Scuzz? it seems you dedicated fan base
The support we've had from m awesome. It's one of those gr your parents something which to be able to reach out to new it's nice to be able to show pe and Lava Tv's "most requested" ch enjoying what we're doing.
Your EP has received so magazines 'Kerrang!' an receiving such good fee
Again receiving positive press "show your parents" moment heard of our band before.
What is the music scene bands you would recom
I don't get chance to go to as might not be the most on the i'm enjoying "The Holiday" and cool.
Who have you guys loved sharing the stage with and why? We really enjoyed the shows with You Me At Six. They really
e your 'Right Now' music video played open us up to lots of new people and You Me At Six fans u are rapidly getting a strong, and have always been great to us. We've also been friends with
those guys a while so it's great to play shows together again. We also loved playing with our friends in Out of Sight and Futures at Slam Dunk Festival. We don't very often get chance to play shows with our friends bands so it was great.
music channels with our first 2 videos has been reat stages for the band where you can show h you know will make them proud. It's been great w fans. We put lots of hard work into the video so eople. The video's featured in Kerrang, Scuzz What do you love about touring, and what are
harts which is great, it shows us that people are
ome great reviews from huge nd 'Rock Sound' how does it feel to be edback?
s in major magazines is awesome. It's another and again helps us reach people who haven't
e like in Southampton? are there any mmend to our readers?
downsides about touring? Is it hard to say 100% day in, day out? Our band has always seen itself as a live band rather than a studio band so being on tour is great for us, playing shows is what we love more than anything else so tour is a great time. I love the routine of tour, I like knowing what i'm doing every day for the next x amount of days and our band always seems to progress much faster on tour than any other time.
What does 2011 hold for Not Advised?
I think 2010 was about launching our band and getting some songs out there for people to hear. 2011 is about stepping everything up. We'll be releasing our debut album so the main focus will be on that and the touring to coincide. I think many shows in Southampton as i'd like so I ball person with the latest and coolest bands but we want to take everything we've learned this year and turn d "Burn the Fleet" a lot lately. Also Craig David is it up to 11 next year.
SENSES FAI
Interview with Buddy Nielsen
How did Senses Fail get together? Garrett, Dan and I met on an NJ punk website forum in 2002, we got together in February 2002 and just started playing music.
What can you tell us about your latest album 'The Fire' ?
What bands inspire you
Bad Religion, NOFX for the lon are so many bands that have s but there are also a lot of new that passion they have and it re
I think it is our best most honest effort yet. We worked very very hard and I am proud of the results. Most of the reviews have been positive and ones that have been negative have been mixed reviews and not so much bad ones.
You guys always have re tell us a little bit more ab you decide what to put o
How are the new songs going down live? Great, better than we thought. We played about 3 songs on the Bayside tour Lifeboats, The Fire and New Years Eve.
I think we always to a good job clear idea of what the images a choose something that is simp make the best covers.
With the departure of Heath Saraceno how different was the writing process for 'The Fire' ?
Your song 'Can't Be Sav Legends of Rock how aw
Um it was a littler different and went slower. Every time you write a new record it is a different process no matter what and the more records you write the harder it gets. I love Heath and am sad he isn't in the band anymore but I don't think we skipped a beat with out him.
Fucking awesome I can't expla pretty sure it is our biggest son
What is it like being on Vagrant records? I love it it so very awesome to be on an independent label with such variety, there is no other independent that has the plethora of bands that Vagrant has. They have done so much for our band, its a great place to be.
You did a co-headlining 2007, how was this? any
Yeah we did it was an awesom from that tour because we wou say that we had one of the bes
L Band Members Buddy Nielsen - vocals Dan Trapp - drums Jason Black - bass Garrett Zablocki - guitar Zack Roach - guitar
You guys toured over here with Biffy Clyro and Hundred Reasons back in 2004, what was this whole experience like? ?
ngevity, Deftones just to name a few. There shaped my life it would be a really long list bands that keep me going because I see eminds me of why i love doing this.
eally great album artwork, can you bout how on the cover of each album?
It was amazing. We were kind of jerks back then, well maybe not jerks but we were snot nosed kids. I was only 19 years old and I didn't full understand the great opportunity we were given by Hundred Reasons. It was a really great experience one that I will always remember.
What other memories do you have from playing live in the UK?
b in naming the record so it gives the artist a and content should be. I always try to ple and striking because i believe those
I loved playing the Astoria and am bummed it got shut down another great memory is playing Brixton on taste of chaos. One time while we were there I got to see Bad Religion play the Underground which was awesome. Playing Barrowlands with Hundred Reasons is another one of my top shows of all time.
ed' featured on Guitar Hero 3: wesome was that?
With this being said, how excited are you to be back in the UK, and what can attending fans expect?
ain how much that helped our band. I am ng.
tour with New Found Glory back in y stories from the road?
me tour! I honestly don't remember a ton uld all hang out every night and drink, I can st times we've ever had.
So excited, I wanted to make it a point to do a proper UK tour for once. So many bands us included tend to think that playing 4 shows in the UK is a tour so I really wanted to try to get to as many cities as possible. We are gonna be play a lot of older stuff our set list at this point is a very balanced mix and we have a really cool opener to announce shortly.
What does 2011 hold for Senses Fail ? Tour, Tour and Tour. More Europe and international stuff on the way.
REEL BIG F Interview with Aaron Barrett
Band Members The current line-up of RBF is: Me, Aaron Barrett - guitar, Vocals Scott Klopfenstein - Trumpet, vocal harmonies, guitar Dan Regan - Trombone Johnny Christmas - Trumpet Ryland Steen - Drums Derek Gibbs - Bass
You guys have toured the UK a bunch of times now, what is it you love so much about playing here?
What is it like touring an Wong?
We definitely feel a lot of love from the UK audiences, they make us feel very welcome and always have! There is just a special feeling there that we really don't get anywhere else.
Writing is the same because h have always written the major the RBF material. He also really hated touring a really dragged the rest of us d for a long time. He always wa happy that he is doing someth now that is making him feel ha again.
What can you tell us about your recent cover album 'Fame, Fortune and Fornication' ? It was just a fun thing we got together and did. We had never done a covers album and there was no longer a record label to tell us no so we just went into the studio and recorded a few songs that we thought would be fun to play and a few others that we had been doing for years.
What do you think of the current Ska Punk music scene?
You guys have played a your favourite places to play and why?
I think its amazing that its still going strong in spite of certain people in the press and music industry who keep claiming ska is "dead". There are more ska bands and more ska fans in more countries all over the world than there ever were before, we are here to stay!
We love to travel and experien far as playing, we just love to anywhere with a stage and a music.
FISH
nd writing without the legendary Matt
he never was too involved in that process, I rity of
nd he let it show. His misery and bad attitude down s and still is a good friend and we're all so hing appy and fulfilled. Its good to see him smile
all over the world, where are some of o
nce new cultures and see new places but as be crowd of people who want to hear us play
How did you guys go about deciding which songs were going to be on 'A Best of Us for the Rest of Us' ? Those are all the songs that were singles, that we made videos for and that we know people love because our fans always request them!
For this record you had to re-record a lot of tracks, what was it like re-recording such classic songs? was it hard to make them sound exactly the same as they did on your previous records? It was fun, we've been playing and perfecting these songs live for years so it really was fun to go back in the studio and do them the right way for the first time! We didn't change the songs drastically, we did the straight, original versions and I think the original energy and magic of each song is still there in a big way.
When can we expect to see a new Reel Big Fish record? Possibly 2011 if we get any time off between tours. Looks like they are booking us pretty solid next year.
Over ten years ago you guys featured in the film BASEketball, how did this idea come about? and how fun was it too? We're still not sure how we got in that movie or who made the call but it really was an amazing experience being on the set of a major motion picture AND being in front of the camera! We were big fans of southpark so meeting matt and tre was really exciting and the day we filmed was the same day as all the cheerleader scenes so that was fun to watch too.
Will you guys be heading for any UK summer festivals in 2011? If we get invited we would definitely love to! We have had some amazing times in the past at the summer festivals!
What does 2011 hold for Reel Big Fish? More world touring! UK, Europe, Eastern Europe, Japan, South America, USA and more!
Any last words for your UK fans? Thanks so much for all your love and support over the last decade and for always making us feel at home! We always look forward to getting back to touring in the UK!
How did you guys get together? Well this band has an extensive history that stretches back to 2005, but the line-up you see before you solidified in summer 2010. It was very much a case of a few guys getting together who really appreciate the metal genre really and trying to create a sound which they really liked.
How did you get to the name 'Circus of War' ? It was literally a case of names in a hat- our old singer actually came up with that suggestion and it just seemed to stick- and yeah we are all aware that it holds the rather unfortunate acronym of C.O.W. haha.
How would you describe your sound to an unfamiliar reader? Searing tones, cataclysmic riffs and relentless firepower apparently! Its just some dirty metal from South Wales which we hope you like.
What can you tell us about your 5 track self titled ep? The self titled e.p has received some really positive feedback. Although two of the members on the e.p have changed since the recording date it is still an accurate representation of our sound. It has recently reached number 3 in the roadrunner united unsigned chart and continues to do well. Anyone who wishes for a copy can contact the band’s myspace or facebook pages.
www.myspace.com/circusofwar
What do you think of the current Metal music scene in South Wales? There are a number of great bands locally who are currently really pushing the envelope. 2010 really seems to have given the metal scene here a kick up the ass to be honest. Everyone is aiming high and trying to put South Wales’s metal scene back on the map as an area producing great metal.
As a South Wales band, how much do you guys miss Newport TJ's ? TJ’s gave up and coming bands the opportunity for exposure to crowds that really appreciated the music. It was iconic to say the least and catered for many different genres of live music not just rock and metal. It is for this reason that it really was a shame to see it go. The atmosphere in TJ’s was really unlike no other. You were made to feel welcome no matter what, something which is a rarity in the club scene these days- plus any club where you can’t go for a piss without your feet sticking to the floor in old dried urine is a club we are happy hang out in haha.
Where can Stencil Mag readers head to a show or check you guys out online? We are currently in the studio finalising two brand new tracks that will be unveiled late January, so you can expect to see us hit up a venue in the Newport area without a doubt February onwards- just keep an eye on the facebook or myspace page.
Starting with the vocals; Lucas takes care of the clean stuff while Julian provides a heavier style. On guitars it’s a bit of a free for all with both Julian and Lucas sharing some guitar work while Matt handles the shred. The engine room of the band consists of John on bass and Jason on kit.
Band Members Murray Macleod, Jordan Smith, Tom Heron
What is it like being on Xtra Mile Recordings? It's fantastic. Xtra Mile Recordings is made up of a handful of hard working people. We are on that label because they believe in us, and want to help us progress as a band.
How did you guys become such good friends with Sam Duckworth (Get Cape)? As he personally released two of your singles through his own record label He got in contact over Myspace a few years back, and we decided to release a couple of singles with him as he was/is a big fan of the band. Much like Xtra Mile, Sam is in it for the right reasons. He has continued to help us out by taking us on various tours with him, he's a good friend and a great musician.
What can you tell us about your latest album, 'Scatterbrain' ? It was recorded in Long Island New York, with a producer named Mike Sapone. It's a noisy pop record.
What was it like to work with the legendary Mike Sapone? It was incredible. We've admired his work for years, so to get the chance to record with him was pretty mind blowing. He was pretty much the 4th member of the band, we can't credit him enough for the way he shaped the album.
How awesome was it to do a session for BBC Radio 1 ? It was good....i think. We actually did that a while back now, so we probably sounded alot younger/nervous. I remember being told we had been confirmed for the session after coming offstage supporting Biffy. It was a pretty exciting night for 3 youngsters.
The Xc Interview with Murray Macleod
“Xtr ah We be pr
certs
p of u e d a m ings is d r o c e R eople. p g n i k ra Mile r hard wo cause they f o l u f d han el be b a l t a h t lp us e are on , and want to he us elieve in band� a s a s s e rogr
You played at T In The Park, how was that whole experience ? It was incredible, as it felt like a huge accomplishment for our band. You never know how these things will turnout as there so many great acts playing, but a big crowd showed up, and we had a great time. Every kid in a band from Scotland wants to play at T In The Park, so i guess i can cross it off my bucket list.
You also played at RockNess? how was that, and are Scottish Festivals different to festivals everywhere else? That was also great, but for different reasons. It was our first time on a main stage, so it was nice to experience something like that in the homeland. Scottish festivals would appear to be alot more rowdy than others. People seem to lose their minds at festivals, but the Scots seem to take it to a whole new level. Borderline freak show, in the best way possible!!
What was it like to support The Get Up Kids? We had a great time on that tour. We're big fans, so to open for them each night was an honour. It's always nice meeting a band you respect and enjoy musically, who are genuinely nice guys.
You recently toured with Futures, how was that? any crazy stories from the road? That was a really good tour. The guys in Futures are great, and we hit it off with them pretty instantly. Touring with good people always makes things easier. The crowds were quite a bit younger than what we are used to, but it was definitely a good thing. Some people really got into what we were doing, but i also saw alot of confused faces on that tour. Alot of young people can be very judgemental, if what they hear isn't associated with a scene they are into, they write it off pretty instantly. I'm not saying every single young person in the country thinks like this, just a grim minority that think that god awful band Framing Hayley (?) are of any worth. Any crazy stories....? There is a fantastic story about someone on the tour, but i can't go into detail. Sex + an alleyway + lighting. That's all i shall say.
How excited are you for your 2011 UK tour dates ? Very excited. We head out on the Rocksound tour with Dinosaur Pile-Up and Japanese Voyeurs in February, and i think it's going to be a great tour. That's all we've got confirmed so far, but keep an eye out for plenty more dates to be announced.
FUTURES
They played the kerrang stage at latest ep The Holiday was picked given away for free with Rock So what will they accomplish next?
Interview with Christian Ward
Band Members Ant West Casey Roarty Christian Ward George Lindsay Can you tell us a little bit about how Futures got together? Ant, Casey and George had been in a band together for a few years which ran its course just over a 18 months ago. I knew them from when I played in another band a few years ago. I got in contact and drove for 3 hours to go hang out. We got on right away so we jammed it out, it felt right and just went for it. We never had a conversation about how we'd like our band to sound or what direction to take. We just played what felt right and we think that really shows on the songs that we've written for our next record.
True or False, was your band named after the Jimmy Eay World album ‘Futures’ ? We actually didn't name it after that album. There's no question we all love that band and album though! We actually spent a day in a library going through books looking for a name. Futures was the name that we felt best summed up our band and was our favourite from a very long list.
Your first gig at The Fly in London completely sold out, how awesome was it to have this kind of response for your first show? It was incredible. After working so hard for so long it was great to think that when the right people come together and start a band there can be a buzz about you even before you've played a single show. Our fans have been amazing from the start and continue to sell out our shows.
What can you tell us about 'The Holiday' album ? It's an album that's been great for us and we're so pleased with the response to it. It's about being positive.
So you gave 'The Holiday' away for free with issue 133 of Rock Sound, how did this idea come about? and what have you gained from doing this? Rock Sound approached us with the idea. No one had ever done anything like it before so it was really exciting. We were planning to give it away for free from our website anyway so it was great opportunity for us both. The issue turned out to be their biggest selling issue in over two years and The Holiday went out to 20,000 people.
The Holiday' also received great reviews from both Kerrang! and Rock Sound, how does it feel to have such iconic magazines backing your music? It's a huge help having the backing of music magazines that are so influential to people. We've been very fortunate as they really help push bands - new and old alike.
the Slam Dunk Festival, and as well as this their d up by over 20,000 people as it was ound,
“After working so ha rd for so long it was great to think th at when the right people come together and start a band there can be a buzz about you even before you've played a single show. Our fans have been amazing from the start and continue to sell out our shows� In June you signed to the amazing Mercury Records, how are they treating you? Very well! We have an amazing team behind us. The people there are great and they really look after us. It makes such a difference having a label help with all the things that are so hard normally when you're doing things on your own. We feel honored to be on the same label as some of our favourite artists.
How fun was it to headline the Kerrang! stage at the legendary Slam Dunk Festival? and also will you guys be looking to play more festivals in 2011? That was a great show. Sometimes you think back to points where things changed or stepped up to the next level. From the moment we walked out on the stage that night, things felt different. I'll never forget that show. We want to play a lot of festivals next year. We're flying to Texas for a week in March to play SXSW and 2011 is already shaping up to be a busy year for us.
You guys did a tour with The Xcerts (who also feature in this issue) back in September how fun was this tour? Wow, it was a lot of fun. Before the September tour, we had only ever done one Headline Tour and we didn't take a band out with us then. We were already fans of The Xcerts so it was great to be able to bring them out and party with them. They're now good friends of ours.
How is the debut album coming along? are there many songs wrote for it so far? It's coming along really well. We have spent a lot of time writing for this record, we have about 50 songs and ideas that we need to whittle down but as ever we continue to write all the time. The whole experience has been inspiring and we're still surprising ourselves everyday. We're currently renting a house next to an unbelievable lake where we're relishing being hidden away from the world to write for a few weeks. We're really proud of what we've written and we hope that our fans enjoy our hard work.
What does the future hold for Futures? It's going to be big! The biggest thing for us will be our album, out next year. We're really excited about showing it to the world. It's a natural progression from the last record. We've explored everything we love about making music and with all our collective influences, things will sound more organic, you'll hear more of 'us' and there really will be something for everyone. Expect to see us playing live a lot more too starting with a headline tour in Feb/March 2011. Also we have a lot of cool stuff that we want to give away online so keep an eye out for that.
SKI Interview with Dan Pugsley
Band Members Skindred is made up of Me, Dan, I play bass, Benji who sings, Arya who plays the drums and Mikey the guitar player.
INDRED Skindred have been tearing up the live scene for years, with slots at festivals all across the world they have proved to audiences that they are an outstanding live act! catch them with Rob Zombie next month to see how good they are live for yourself!
How did Skindred form? Back in 1998 I met Benji through mutual friends in Bristol. His former band Dubwar had split up the previous year. We decided to start writing together and I moved to Wales. After a time of trying out various guitar players and drummers Benji's former bandmates approached us about working on some new material as a new band. We'd decided way back that we were never going to play any Dubwar songs and that this should be something completely of it's own. In 2002 we were dropped from our original recording contracts, the Jeff and Ginge decided they wanted to work more on the production side of music (where they are both enjoy great success at the moment), so we started looking for replacements, that's when we met Mikey and Arya, they joined the band later that year.
As a band coming from South Wales, how much do you miss the legendary Newport TJ's? Well none of us really live in Newport anymore but yeah, when we go back there it's such a shame it's gone. When i first moved there it was such a hub for local gig goers, boozers and punks. The place was an institution really, we played there so many times during the bands history, had amazing shows there, and I had some brilliant nights there with friends just going out drinking. Whenever I meet bands on the road that have played there and tell them it's gone it's always the same reaction, everyone one loved TJ's!
What can you tell us about your upcoming album 'Union Black' ? Union Black is our 4th record and it's actually the first we've ever recorded in the UK. I think that's in a lot of ways it's given us so much more freedom. I really love our previous records, and think the producers did some great work on them, but we've always been a little bit preoccupied with American radio, and whether or not the songs will work on that format. This time we've pursued things that from initial ideas probably wouldn't have made it onto our earlier albums in the sense that active rock radio might not want to play them, but i think now they are finished it's some of the heaviest, danciest , yet most accessible songs we've ever written. We've put a lot into this record, I hope people are ready for it!
You have played at Sonisphere twice in the last two years, what is it you love so much about this festival? and how has it been? Sonisphere fans, and the people that book the event have always been brilliant to us. I think everyone in the band sees the first time we played Sonisphere as a real turning point for us, after years of slogging it out on the road people started to see us as real contenders, and this years festival was just unbelievable, like totally nuts, couldn't believe how many people came to watch us, and since then it seems people have much more awareness of the band. We'd play it again in a heartbeat!
You played Ozzfest this year, how was that experience? and also what it is like to be playing with such huge and iconic bands?
Ozzfest was great, it was a real honour to be asked to do that, but to be honest with you it was a bit of a daze, like the day went by so so fast! I actually live very close to where the festival took place so it was brilliant having friends and family around to see the show.
“I think everyone in the band sees the first time we played Sonisphere as a real turning point for us, after years of slogging it out on the road people started to see us as real contenders�
Do you prefer playing a festival stage, or is a smaller stage more fun? Well very rarely at festivals do you get any kind of soundcheck, you just throw the equipment up there and go, and a lot of the time if you don't get the levels you want onstage you don't enjoy the gig so much, so in some ways playing our own club shows can be more enjoyable, but if the crowd's great at a festival you kind of overlook the technical aspect and failures of playing those huge shows and really get into the spirit of it. The short answer is i love both.
How excited are you to be touring with Rob Zombie soon? Playing the Rob Zombie shows is one of the most exciting things for me to happen to the band in a long time. When I was a kid, actually when I started playing bass, White zombie were one of my favourite bands, they were some of the first songs I ever learnt to play! Can't wait to hit the road with him.
, What is it like when you have the crowd going crazy to the music that you created? That is probably the best thing about playing live, to see people physically and emotionally react to our music. So difficult to describe, but it is just an incredible feeling.
Interview with Sam
Trails are an amazing upcoming band, all you need to do is take a listen to 'By Night We Escape' and you are already a fan
So, how did Trails get together? Basically me (Sam) and a couple of mates started a band a few years ago with the intention of playing whatever we wanted, having fun doing it, and voicing opinions on what we deemed to be important issues. Over the last five years we've had numerous line-up changes and name changes searching for the perfect group of guys to persue these goals, but though our sound has changed drastically, I'd like to think these ideals have not!
Why should readers listen to you? We aim to make passionate, interesting, rocking music. If that's up your street then please check us out!
How would you define your sound to unfamiliar readers ? Our roots are certainly in punk, in terms of the ethos behind what we do, and stylistically what we progressed out of. Now we just try and encorporate everything we know and love into something new! We like our music to rock, to be rhythmically interesting, and to be melodic. I'll leave the individual listener to define it for themselves!
How do you go about putting a song together? Normally Will or I will have a couple of riffs which we'll play around with acoustically together until we feel we've got a solid core for a song. Then we'll take it to practice and jam it with the band and see what happens! Sometimes a whole song comes together easily, sometimes it's just not working. We never try and force it, just leave it on the shelf and move on. Generally lyrics will be written seperately by Will or I as and when they come to us. We'll then work those lyrics to fit the songs acoustically, then perfect vocals and harmonies in the practice studio or whilst recording demos.
“I don't really like the term fame any more. I think the modern day perception of the word has lost all relevant meaning. So I wouldn't describe what we're after as fame. I'd say we'd like to play to as many people as we can all over the world� Band Members Sam - Vocals & Guitar Will - Guitar & Backing Vocals James - Bass & Backing Vocals Adam - Drums & Backing Vocals
What can you tell us about the song 'By Night We Escape'? By Night We Escape was the lead track off our last EP as Overthrow. It's a good example of us all working together to write a track. Musically the verse and pre-chorus were written by our old bassist Mike, then I think the middle 8 and maybe the chorus were written by me, with everyone adding their own parts. Lyrically it's about trying to escape from the banality of the office environment on a personal level, and on a general level throwing down the shackles of our consumer driven, corporate owned society and getting back to the simple things we loved when we were young, and what life is all about really. I think it's easy for us to lose sight of what's important when you're pushed in a certain direction every day of your life.
How famous or well known would you like Trails to one day be? I don't really like the term fame any more. I think the modern day perception of the word has lost all relevant meaning. So I wouldn't describe what we're after as fame. I'd say we'd like to play to as many people as we can all over the world, and hopefully they'll like us and become fans along the way. We'd like to take this as far as we can without selling out on our ideals, however far that may be!
What do you think of the alternative rock music scene at the moment in the UK? Recently there seems to be a load of newish bands that we're into: Pulled Apart By Horses, Tubelord, Talons, The Xcerts, Dinosaur Pile-Up, Tall Ships etc. It's fucking hard to make it in the UK either way, but at least there's bands out there we can say we'd like to tour with and who are getting somewhere. We could talk all day about whether certain scenes are dead and others are thriving, and whether the internet has killed a part of what makes a scene, but I think it's best to just get on with it!
Who would you really love to tour with this year, and why? Any of the above!
What does 2011 hold for Trails? An EP release and as many gigs as possible. Anything else is a bonus!
Interview with Dave Davison They've shared the stage with Fall of Troy and Foals, and now they are bringing their technical music to the UK, these guys are not to be missed!
Band Members Erin Elders, Dave Davison, Chris Hainey, Shiraz Dada
How did you get the name Maps & Atlases? The name came from a fading advertisement on the side of a building that used to print old maps and atlases near where all of us went to school.
“The name came from a fading advertisement on the side of a building that used to print old maps and atlases near where all of us went to school�
What can you tell us about your album 'Perch Patchwork'? It was a fun and interesting record to make. Working with Jason Cupp as a producer was very fun and he added a great energy and gave us the ability to experiment in a really productive way. He did a fantastic job of keeping what we did on a daily basis in perspective and staying focused on the larger picture.
What is it like being on Barsuk Records? The people at Barsuk are very friendly and supportive and we are excited to work with them. Plus they sent us a bunch of coasters for Christmas!
What was it like to tour with The Fall Of Troy and RX Bandits back in 2007? That tour was a lot of fun and was the beginning of a lot of lasting friendships. It was one of our first big tours and we are very grateful that we had that opportunity.
“We are excited to h ave the ability to travel to new places and actually h ave some people attend the shows.�
You also toured with Foals back in 2008, how fun was that? We toured with Foals twice, once in the US and once in the UK and both were fantastic. They are great guys and we had a lot of fun. We are also grateful for the opportunity to tour the UK, which may not have happened as soon as it did had Foals not asked us to come over.
When you play a show so far away from home, how cool is it to have people come out to your show and support you? It really is great and unexpected, especially when it's our first time in a place. We are excited to have the ability to travel to new places and actually have some people attend the shows.
What can we expect from your upcoming UK tour ? and how excited are you to be back in the UK ? We will playing a mix of songs from the EPs and Perch Patchwork and we are very excited to come back to the UK. We had a lot of fun and were able to explore more of the country last time so we are looking forward returning to a lot of the places that we discovered.
You guys are from Chicago, can you recommend any other bands we should listen to from that area? There are a bunch of good bands from Chicago, but a few newer good ones are Disappears, Light Pollution and Distractions. There is also a band called Gypsy Blood from Chicago that will be releasing an album this year, which should be really great.
What does 2011 hold for Maps & Atlases? Hopefully more recording and touring and having fun!
Any last words? Thank you for talking to us!
Interview with Stefania Galasso
Band Members Steff - Vocals, Sam - Guitar/BVs, Elliot - Guitar/BVs, Suthee - Bass, Scott - Drums
Can you give us a brief history of Undercolour? Like all good bands should, we initially came together through a sheer mutual love of music. Originally we met and jammed whilst studying Music Performance and Technology in Manchester in 2007. Fast forward to March 2010 – we are all now studying Music Performance at University – we realised that the sum of our parts could stack up to make something really special.
What bands inspire you? We are all inspired by a wide range of bands – from pop to metal, but as passionate musicians we genuinely appreciate any band that can write a great song and any band / act / group that can get on stage and kill it live. It’s cheesy but it really is true!
Can you describe your sound to unfamiliar Stencil Mag readers? Let’s go with rock-pop-experimental. It’s a bit of a toughie and there are obvious bands you could compare us to. We take a wide range of aspects from our influences to create Undercolour.
How hard is it to be an upcoming band in this day and age? The UK currently has a really amazing crop of bands… Francesqa, Proceed, Not Advised, Tiger Please…. the list goes on. This has two effects… one, it’s harder to get noticed because there are so many others, but also, thanks to all the bands being in similar situations, it’s amazing. We are friends with a lot of the guys and everyone does what they can to help each other out. It’s like one big fraternity and it’s not exclusive – you just need to get off your backside and play and you’re in. For us personally though, as we are a female fronted band we have a lot of the obvious comparisons to Paramore thrown at us. It’s actually really great to be compared to such a huge band because they are a huge influence on us, but if you do take the time to listen you will hear a difference!
Paul Savage the previous owner of punktastic.com manages this band, so this is enough to state to anyone with a decent music mind that this band are worth your attention!
“It’s awesome to be recognised by anyone but as we all read these sites it’s extra special. A little surreal”
It seems sites like punktastic.com and alterthepress.com have noticed the talent that you guys have, how cool is to have such awesome sites backing your music? It’s awesome to be recognised by anyone but as we all read these sites it’s extra special. A little surreal perhaps, but we’ve been blown away by the support and some of the quotes are amazing; being mentioned in the same sentence as bands like Circa Survive and Versaemerge is something that we are very happy about!
What can you tell us about the song 'Famous Scenes and Drama Queens' ? To put it bluntly, it’s a “fuck you” to anyone who enjoys making others lives hell by being a douche. One big middle finger to all of those people who enjoy spreading lies and generally being nasty. Something that everyone can relate to, it’s the song we really want the crowd to get involved in at shows!
How awesome was it to play with 'Blitz Kids' ? This was actually the biggest venue that we’ve played in so it was great to hear how big we can sound. It’s part of a great learning curve that we are currently on and the best thing about it is that Blitz Kids totally nailed it. Amazing!
What does the future hold for Undercolour? Next year we intend on hitting the studio to lay down some tracks for our debut release and also play as many shows as is humanly possible!
THE SKINTS
“Reggae music is hugely important to the world. I can't speak for the world, but it definitely changed my life� How did The Skints get together?
Interview with Josh Waters Rudge
Band Members Jamie plays drums and sings, Jon plays bass and Marcia plays keys, sax, flute, melodica and sings and I'm Josh, I play guitar and sing.
No exciting story there, just good mates at school looking to make music, now we live in each others pockets and tour all year long!
How did you come up with band name? Haha! Not saying that we were pure ghetto youts but at the time none of us had a fiver between us when we were out. Lots of faredodging buses to get to practises in them days. The name just kinda stuck.
Now you just got of tour with the awesome Random Hand, and Dirty Revolution, how fun was that? Yeah it was sick. Get on really well with both those bands, this was our third tour with Random Hand I think, it's a pleasure to watch them perform every night. It was our first time on tour with Dirty Rev so it was awesome to hang with those guys.
What can you tell us about your album Live. Breathe. Build. Believe. ? Erm, it's our first album. 11 songs documenting the thoughts and feelings of 4 young people living in our various situations.
What can you tell us about the song 'Up Against The Wall' ? 'Up Against The Wall' is a song about a night out from the view points of 3 different characters. Go check the vinyl, Mad Professor did a dub version, it's awesome.
How important is reggae music to the world? Reggae music is hugely important to the world. I can't speak for the world, but it definitely changed my life. I have no idea what sort of person I would be without reggae.
What bands influence The Skints? Wow, that's a long one. We are influenced by artists of all genres from all over the world. Ride in our van for half an hour and you will probably hear Black Flag, Billie Holiday, Beenie Man and Smokey Robinson all in the same sitting.
What was it like to play the 'Mighty Sounds Festival' ? Mighty Sounds was cool because it was our first show outside the UK, first flight and trip abroad for some of us aswell! It was awesome to play to new people and party with people from other countries but it did NOT stop raining!
How cool was it to be on the Radio 1 Punk Show? Always an honour to be played on the Punk Show, I was listening to that years before any of this kicked off. Highest thanks and praise to Mike Davies for his continued support.
Going back to the start a bit here but your first full tour was with The King Blues, how was that ? Touring with the King Blues was amazing because it was such a jump up from anything we'd done before touring wise. We learned alot on that tour and our eyes were opened to alot of things. Always love playing with the King Blues, would love to tour again soon, they're our boys for life.
How cool was it to be featured in Kerrang as an upcoming band? Amazing. Everyone who was a rock kid at school dreams of being in Kerrang one day, so it was very cool.
You played the amazing lock up stage last year, what was that experience like? Best. Thing. Ever. Words can't desribe. Any kid that's been to Reading watching those bands telling themselves "I am gonna do that one day" and then it happens in like 2 years, nuts.
How excited are you for your upcoming tour with the awesome Reel Big Fish (also featured in this issue) We're proper stoked to be going out with such a legendary band in that world, much respect to Reel Big Fish for having us out, we can't wait.
As a band that tours rather a lot, where would you like to play this year that you have'nt already ? Everywhere man, there's a big wide world out there. I wanna explore Europe some more.
What does 2011 hold for The Skints? Lots of touring and festivals, hopefully an album and lots of fun.
Any last words? thanks for the interview, follow us twitter.com/theskints
“Growing up in Wales doesn't prepare you for rocking out in 106 degrees in the midday sun! We sweated, drank and sweated some more�
Band Members The Joy Formidable are Ritzy Bryan, Rhydian Dafydd Davies and Matt Bamalam Thomas.
What can you tell us about your upcoming album 'The Big Roar' ? We're very proud of it , it's unrestrained and emotive and it shows off some new sides to the band; sonically and in temperament.
In support of this you are playing a massive headline tour, how excited are you? We're always happy when we're touring and we're especially looking forward to playing songs off the new album.
Also what can attending fans expect? They can expect to see a band who are enjoying every second of being onstage.
So you supported Sir Paul McCartney in June, how was this whole experience, and how did this opportunity come about? It was easily one of the best days we've had. I have no idea how it came about, but we're glad it did. We came away feeling very inspired by how great his set was, and the Manics too.
The next day you opened The Other Stage at Glastonbury, what was it like to play such an iconic festival? It's a great festival, I always hoped we'd play it one day. The crowd were fantastic and we spent the rest of the day stage-hopping to see as much as possible. Loudon Wainwright and Richard Thompson were breathtaking.
You recently headlined the NME Radar Tour with support from Wilder and Chapel Club, how was this? We loved seeing our UK fanbase again. It felt like it had been a while what with being in the studio and touring the U.S and Australia. We were glad to see them (and their masks!)
What was it like to play the Bamboozle festival? are the festivals in the USA a lot different to the ones here in the UK? Bamboozle was fun, the most marked difference was the temperature. Growing up in Wales doesn't prepare you for rocking out in 106 degrees in the midday sun! We sweated, drank and sweated some more.
How have you progressed as a band since the release of 'A Balloon Called Moaning' ? We've evolved. All bands should do that over time.
After a very busy 2010, what does 2011 hold for you? We're aiming to get even busier. We're planning to tour a lot and get to some places we haven't managed before.
Band Members Johnny: I play bass, Romily sings and plays guitar, Rikki plays keys, Steve plays drums and Tom plays guitar> 2010 was a busy year for these guys, they were on the front cover of Rock Sound and they just got of a great tour with Young Guns and The Swellers, 2011 is already keeping them busy though as they are about to head out on tour with The Xcerts! check out the single 'Milk Teeth' right now! Interview with Romily and Johnny Can you describe your sound to unfamiliar readers? RA: the sound of kyuss and jesus lizard birthing an illegitimate love child>
What was it like being on the front cover of Rock Sound? RA: pretty strange. its amazing to get that kind of support, but magazine covers are definitely something we thought would happen a long way off if ever so it was a surprise.
What can you tell us about your ep 'That Love Sound' ? RA: we liked the duality of putting out 2 songs as a double a side which were so different from eachother. Love sound is very melodic and has a loud quiet dynamic whereas blush is much more wild.
What can you tell us about your latest single 'Milk Teeth' ? > RA: lyrically it makes absolutely no sense, no-one seems to have picked up on that but if anyone would tell me what its about i would appreciate it. it was an experiment in stream of consciousness writing which as a literary tradition is something i'm very interested in.
What do you love the most about playing live? JS: Free beer!
What's it like touring with Young Guns and The Swellers? JS: It was cool, they're all really nice dudes. They're audience was a lot different to who we normally play to, so it was a good experience.
How excited are you for your headline UK tour in February? RA: It'll be fun to get out on our own again. supporting is fun and its a challenge but its also nice to get to play to the people who really love your music.
Also, you have the Rock Sound Exposure tour coming up, are you excited for this also? RA: very much so. we've toured with dinosaur pile up before and its always been a really good atmosphere so it should be a good time.
“Magazine covers are definitely something we thought would happen a long way off if ever “
Who else would you guys really love to tour with in 2011? RA: down, kyuss, acid king, dopefight.
What does the future hold for Japanese Voyeurs? RA: hopefully more albums, more touring and more disgusting videos. Any last words? RA: work hard in school.
“Supporting is fun and its a challenge but its also nice to get to play to the people who really love your music”
Interview with Adam M
ing in with o g ts a h w y tl a c x e w o The Perfect Crime kn cene in s ic s u m k c ro e v ti a rn the alte atch out, w ld u o h s e w , n o s a re the UK, and for that eir year! as 2011 may well be th How did you get to the name The Perfect Crime ? It came about many years ago whilst I was still in college. It was buzzing around the 'could be' band names and eventually stuck. I never thought I would be in a band name with a "The" at the front. To this day it's still something bugs me on a small level! We let the music do the talking rather than the name shall I say!
Can you describe your sound to readers that may be unfamiliar with your music? Epic, honest, loud, quiet, dynamic, big, soft, heavy, not so heavy. A little bit of everything in there mainly floating around the post hardcore/alternative/proggy rock. More so to the new material anyway..
What can you tell us about your album 'Everything Else Can Wait' ? There is a lot of story behind this album, as I am sure there are with many many albums out there. The title sums it up in a sense that sometimes you have to live for the moment and forget everything else for a while and concentrate on what is your focus at that time. For us we knew we needed an album and we spent the majority of 2009 writing and getting it ready to be recorded earlier this year. The time spent in the studio was one of the hardest and intense 10 days we worked as a band. A little unknown fact to some people is that the whole album was recorded live and not to a click track with Scott completing the drums in under 3 hours. This obviously massively helped with the other aspects of the recording! Working with Pete (Miles - Failsafe, The King Blues) was awesome and he really homed our sound and created this massively sounding debut album. More than we could have asked for. Lyrically it's quite metaphorical. For example the first track, Hailstones was purely written on my way back from Canada earlier in the year and we experienced some strong turbulence on the flight. It was quite a struggle to get the album from the point of writing to the point of holding the CD in our hands so I think that comes across too in parts. Musically we just wanted to be the biggest sounding 3 piece as possible? Indigo, the last track on the album I wrote at work on my lunch breaks and bought it to the guys about a month before we went into the studio. I think the sense of the album as tracklisting goes shows more of the direction where new material could be heading.
Band Members
Mortaro
Scott, Chris and myself, Adam.
How do you go about writing a song? This is something very familiar to a lot of bands I am sure. I usually come up with an idea, being the guitarist, and bring it to practice and we go from there. We are weary not to get too caught up in the age of technology and lose the feel of actually playing/jamming together. I mean anyone can write structures on a computer in their bedroom nowadays and send it between the band. We haven't ever really used this method as a tool. Any ideas we do have as a band we will record at a rehearsal together - live, and go from there. We have recently added soe fx pedals to our gear so I am sure they'll make an appearance in future songs a bit more.
What has it been like to play with the awesome InMe? On a personal level for me this has been amazing. I was telling Dave (Mcpherson) the other night after one of the shows that I remember watching InMe as a kid and thinking to myself one day I will play with that band, and it's true, you put in the hard work and effort and you can get to where you want to be. Scott really digs the newer InMe material, where as I am an old school fan but appreciate the new direction. It has been inspiring and taught us so much playing with a band of that calibar. I mean they have an undying underground fanbase that is always there to see them at their shows and have been through a lot as a band, yet are still hearing playing to people at sold out shows. You have to work very hard and be very well respected to get to this stage in your career. I think our live shows in particular have come on leaps and bounds.
How excited are you for your upcoming tour with Brides, and why should people attend the gig? Firstly, we have come a long way in our live shows over the last 6 months and coming off the InMe tour has taught us so much. It's really brought the album material out of it's shell. Secondly, we just want to get out there and show people what we can do! If we gain some fans along the way then it will be awesome. The tour has been self funded all the way by both us and Brides so we hope some kids appreciate what we as bands are trying to achieve. These shows will be intimate and hardly pricey on the door, and to see two 3 piece bands, each ahearing to their strengths, I think is a pretty awesome deal.
What does the future hold for The Perfect Crime? We hope a lot of positive aspects. We are taking a small break at Christmas to do all the 'normal' things and then once the New Year is here we will be in full motion with a new press campaign, video shoot and new single release and obviously the tour with Brides plus further tours along the year. It would be really cool to get on some festivals this year too, which I hope will happen at some point. In a word, just to work even harder this year and tour the album as much as possible. One thing that hasn't died out so much are live shows. People still want to see live music and that's something you can't get for free or illeagally!
Interview with Daniel Osborne
They're on Visible noise records and they've also played the massive Download Festival, Your Demise are an awesome band to say the least!
What is it like being on Visible Noise Records ? It has been awesome, they have done so much for us, and they have alot of great people working for them.
What can you tell us about your latest album 'The Kids We Used To Be' ? Well it is the first album we have done with Ed, and its moving us into a slightly different direction. Its still very much YD, but we are concentrating more on song writing and the structure of the songs, including catchy hooks and memorable choruses.
You played Download Festival last year, how was that? Download was insane. It was an eye opener and we really didnt expect the reaction we got. Even now I still cant believe how it went for us.
When you lost George Noble, how did you go about finding a new singer, was this process easy ? Tailbee, our drummer, used to be in a band with Ed and always spoke very highly of him, he is just a great guy and made everything seem so natural. From day 1 , it was meant to be.
Band members Ed McRae, Daniel Osborne, Stuart Paice, James Sampson, James Tailby
How different was the writing process for 'The Kids We Used To Be' because at this point, you were without George Noble ? Well before Ed joined, the band was kind of controlled as a dictatorship, no ones opinions were heard and it was all based around a single persons ego. So Ed joined and completely changed the way the band was. Everyone had input in the songwriting process and you can tell. Sound wise its alot more diverse than the last album. We tried some new things, and concentrated alot more on hooks and song writing to make it appeal more to us and a wider audience. We havent lost any of brutality on this album, but we have definately concentrated alot on melody and song structure.
You guys have done gigs way outside the UK, what is it like playing your music live so far away from home ? Its brilliant! I love going to places we have never been before, win over a new crowd of kids. I like seeing how different countries react and respect music. Sometimes its an eye opener like playing eastern Europe. The kids go crazy.
What can fans expect heading out to your UK tour ? Its gonna be crazy hopefully. We are going to play alot more new songs off the new album. We are also taking out some great bands on this tour, namely, Let Live, Break Even and Stick To Your Guns, so there is gonna be a big variety of music for the kids to listen to.
What does this year hold for Your Demise ? This year will be touring touring touring all over the world, just the way we like it!
Interview with Leon Stanford
TIGER PLEASE Band Members leon stanford- vocals lewis rowsell-drums tyla campbell-guitar luc morris-guitar jimmi-lee kendall-bass
So, how did Tiger Please get together? i was in 3 different bands, one with luc and tyla playing experimental pop rock music taking influences from kids in glass houses, dopamine and the guns. the second one was a emo enter shikari wanna be band with jimmi and lewis, then the final band was a biffy clyro and foo fighters wanna be band with tyla and lewis. one day about 2 years ago i decided to put us all together in one band to form tiger please to create a more orginal sound which we werent quite old enough to do in the previous bands. we quickly learned that being ourself and having our own sound would gain us some slots with bands we used to try to be.
Do Walnut Tree Records treat you well? nah not really he likes to abuse his bands, the things he's done to us i wouldnt dare speak about lol nah joking tom of walnut tree records is one of the nicest men and most pasionate about his bands and his parents make us a cracking breakfast.
What can you tell us about your latest release 'Seasons' ? season is an ep we released with four full length tracks one for each season, its a story of a year in my life where i went through some changes , i went from having a long lasting relationship and a steady life to having nothing because of a stupid addicton, then i struggled to find myself but by the time spring had come around i was a new person and the most important thing i was in love again, the one feeling that you have and when its gone you dont know if you'll ever feel it again and lucky for me i did, AND lucky for the ep seasons as well as when i started writing lyrics for it i had all intentions of it being a depressing story with no happy ending but thats the point life is so unpredictable. seasons was also me questioning what is the meaning of life and i truely believe after writing seasons that it is love.
What was it like working the welsh hero that is 'Romesh Dodangoda' ? more abuse except he liked to use objects i wish i could remove from my mind lol once again joke, the man has an amazing ear for music and its always been a dream of mine and lucs to work with him as like you said he's a welsh hero and he's recorded all the welsh bands which have inspired us to want to be in a band.
How has your sound progressed as a band since the release of 'They Don't Change Under Moonlight' ? since the start its always seemed like every new song we've wrote has got better, obviously having the feedback we've had has boosted our confidence at writing. im very proud of they dont change under moonlight as its every song we jammed out just to find ourselfs at the beginning but its also the cd which has got us heard, i can promise you all though the album will be something else, the stuff written so far we're all so proud of it and we cant wait to show everyone, it might have been the chinese year of the tiger 2010 but i think 2011 might just be our year.
What can you tell us about your single 'Autumn Came The Fall' ? its a song about losing everything close to you and getting your heart broken, its a story of being a tree in autumn and having to watch all the beauty just fall from you.
How awesome was it to feature in the Kerrang! magazine as an upcoming band? the support we've had from kerrang has been amazing 4k ratings and reviews the upcoming spread, its been mental its a magazine that we grew up buying i remember having stacks and stacks of kerrangs in my bedroom and now we're in those magazines mental haha
So you played the huge Download Festival this year, how was that? and will you be heading back to the festival circuit in 2011? download was the first festival i ever went to so for it to be the first festival we played it was something special and to play at 11am and still pack out the tent was one of our biggest achievements. hopefully like i said 2011 will be our year and we can play all the festivals, its always been a dream of mine to play reading so maybe we'll be lucky enough.
You recently played a show with Funeral For A Friend supporting you as a secret act, how cool was this experience and how did this idea come about? well for the last 2 years we've been managed by funeral for a friend drummer randy richards, and when discussing support acts for our up coming anniversary show at the time, guitarist luc took a long shot in requesting for funeral to support us as special guests and randy being the gentleman he is said yes and made it the best evening of my life, it was a sold out show full with new funeral tracks and an amazing crowd giving us the best reaction we've ever had it really is the best feeling ever to have people singing your songs back at you and to being playing on the same line up as a band i have stickers of on my 10 watts bass amp haha its an honour.
How excited are you for your UK tour with The Crave, and what can attending fans expect? we had our first proper tour experience in the summer and we cant get enough of it we love it, we really cant wait to get back on the road especially with a band like the crave, we may be releasing another video from our ep seasons and we'll be playing a lot of the old stuff for everyone to come out and sing along.
What does the future hold for Tiger Please ? a sold out millenium stadium all singing every word to the new album lol, 2011 the album will be out and i promise you its going to be worth the wait, we're still taking story entries which you can send to leon.stanford21@live.co.uk we're writing an album especially for all of you, if you've got a life story that you want written into a song send it in.
DON BROCO Interview with Matt Donnelly
Band Members Rob Damiani - Vocals Matt Donnelly - Drums/Vocals Simon Delaney - Guitar/Vocals Luke Rayner - Bass/Vocals
Their music videos have featured on Scuzz TV and they've even toured with Enter Shikari, I believe these facts alone prove that Don Broco are certainly another great band to watch out for in 2011 How did you guys get together? Well we all met at school and were brought together by a mutual love of bands like Biffy Clyro, Glassjaw & Incubus. Having picked up instruments and starting to learn all around the same time as a number of our other mates (Rob started out at a drummer, still fancies himself as one too) we all jammed/played in a number of terrible bands before the birth on Don Broco, which luckily was the only one that stuck.
How did you get the name Don Broco? Well in the past we have come up with all sorts of exotic full blown lies to answer this question, reason being the truth is a little boring, but in all honesty, having spent months trying to find a name and with songs written and our first bunch of shows fast approaching we came up with the idea of 'Don Loco.' We breathed a premature sigh of relief before it was revealed it was already being used by a German rapper and Si went on to break his arm playing football the very next week. We were gutted, we had to cancel the shows and go back to the drawing board. A few weeks later, as an off the cuff remark Rob referred to Si as Don Bro-co on account of his Bro-ken arm and the rest is history. See what I mean?... Haha
What can you tell us about your debut mini album 'Big Fat Smile' ? Its a consolidation of the Don Broco sound. We've taken what was good about what we've done in the past, given it an adrenaline shot and put it in a padded room till it tired itself out. When it drops, we hope its really gonna turn heads. All of the songs lyrically revolve around characters and experiences from our lives over the past 2 years (since the start of Don Broco.) We've had an absolute blast and I think because of that a really upbeat vibe transmits through the songs.
What can you tell us about the single 'Dreamboy'? Dreamboy was the first single taken from Big Fat Smile, but one of the last songs we wrote. It has a real summertime vibe and so when we decided to shoot a video in the middle of a heatwave we knew it had to be Dreamboy.
You played the massive Sonisphere Festival, how was this whole experience? As you can imagine it was a little nerve-wracking. What we had on our side is that we had been on tour just before and so had a fair amount of road stamina and practice under our belts, which does wonders for your confidence. Thankfully our stage clashes were a little kinder than at Download the year before (which were possibly the worst we could have ended up with - Limp Bizkit + Enter Shikari) and as a result we had a decent number of bodies in our tent which was a really great feeling.
How cool was it to have your video played on Scuzz TV? Incredible, We grew up watching channels like Scuzz and that was how we were first introduced to some of the bands that we went on to love. I think that exposure that TV gives is equally important today so it was a huge achievement for us
How excited are you for your upcoming headline UK tour in February ? Really excited. This will be only our third ever time out on the road as a headliner and the venues are certainly the biggest yet. It will be the first time we've hit the road with a full release under our belts and we can't wait to see how people respond to it, especially the couple of songs off Big Fat Smile that we have been playing live for a little while but that people will be hearing on record for the very first time.
What does 2011 hold for Don Broco ? Following the Feb tour we will be hitting the road again early summer which we are really excited about and no doubt we'll be getting our teeth stuck into festival season again which is probably our favorite time of year, when the party vibes really peak and everyone seems to let their hair down. The next single from Big Fat Smile, 'Beautiful Morning' is set for release in early Feb and there will be more singles to follow in due course. We've already started work on a full length and no doubt we will be hitting the studio to commit it to record before the year is through.
Band Members Simon Fowler, Steve Cradock, Oscar Harrison, Dan Sealey Andy Bennet
How did Ocean Colour Scene get together?
Through playing pubs and clubs in and around Birmingham the band members got to know one another and t
This year you celebrate your 21st anniversary as a band, with that in mind, how much h you first got together?
The music world has changed beyond recognition, as soon there will not be CDs or even HMV on the High St
What was it like to have a number one album? One better than having a number two album.
How did you guys become such good friends with Paul Weller?
We met him recording at his Solid Bond recording studio in London in 1990, and shared the same interest in m
thus Ocean Colour Scene was formed.
has the music world changed since
treet.
music mods and alcohol.
Interview with: Simon Fowler Paul Weller even played with you live sometimes, what was it like to play with such an iconic figure? Great when he is sober.
What was it like to tour with The Who? It was the easiest job in the world. They made us very welcome.
Now with the release of ‘21’ we see a lot of previously unreleased tracks, how does it feel to finally share these tracks with the world? Some of the tracks I had forgotten myself so it’s great to have the opportunity to share them with our fans at last.
What can you tell us about your latest album ‘Saturday’? I think it is the best album we have released since ‘Marchin Already’.
Oasis played Knebworth in 1996, you guys supported, how was this whole experience? It was terrifying at first but I will never forget 125,000 pair of hands clapping along to ‘The Day We Caught The Train’.
What can fans expect from your upcoming UK tour? A performance of ‘Moseley Shoals’ album plus songs that we have not played live for a long time.
What does 2011 hold for Ocean Colour Scene? Tours and concerts, tours and concerts.
THE WONDER YEA The Wonder Years are one of the biggest upcoming pop punk bands out there, their last album 'upsides' was one of the best pop punk albums we heard last year, but get ready as the follow up is coming out this year! Stencil Mag finds out all about it!
Interview with Soupy
So you guys were in the first issue of Stencil Magazine (May 2010), what have you been up to since we last spoke? It has been an eventful couple of months. Since May, we've been on tour almost non-stop. After Slam Dunk, we did a full US tour with ska legends, Streetlight Manifesto and followed that up with an east coast run with my childhood heroes in New Found Glory which was amazing. After that we went directly to Australia and then directly into another full US tour with Four Year Strong and Comeback Kid.
How stoked are you to be on the kerrang! tour with Four Year Strong and Good Charlotte? Very stoked. Four Year Strong have become good friends of ours over the years and I'm excited to just see them again and Good Charlotte was the first band I ever met at a show as a kid. I went to see Mxpx and GC opened the show. Afterward, they hung out outside for hours talking to people. I still respect that.
Why should Good Charlotte/Four Year Strong fans come out to the show early to check you guys out ? We've been to England four times now. All of them were on a DIY agenda. No agent brought us over. Nobody rented us a van or gear. Nobody put us up in a hotel. We came by ourselves with the help of our friends. We put everything we had into making those tours as big as we could. Most of the people that are going to be at these shows had no idea that any of those tours even happened. We paid our dues. I think we deserve 25 minutes of their time to show them what we can do. Every night we go on stage with the intention of pouring all of ourselves into the show. If you watch us, I can promise you we're going to do everything in our power to put on the best show we possibly can.
What is it like being on Ho
It's nice. Feels like home. I like th ideas.
What can you tell us abou how did the idea for the m managed to get hold of Ch
Melrose Diner is a break-up song range of emotion you feel after a with the melancholy. The outer h really just want them back in you forum for showing the emotional when I was younger and our tour wrestling league and so we had a make the video happen. Charlie great guy that didn't mind giving
You are releasing a split 7' did this idea come about ?
That came out months ago but w Records as part of the Under the releases that feature the two ban musical existence.
How fun was the 'Tonight W Strong?
Extremely fun. I love everyone th were the best we've ever played.
ARS
opeless Records ?
he staff, I like their ethics and I like their
t the song Melrose Diner ? Also usic video come about, as you harlie Saxton to feature in it!
g that has the intention of showing the relationship ends. The bitterness mixed atred mixed with the hidden secret that you r bed. The video was, in my opinion, a new story arch of the song. I loved wrestling r manager was a part of the BAW backyard access to a lot of awesome resources to was in it because he is our friend and a up two days of his time to hang out with us.
'' with Fallen From The Sky, how ?
we were asked to do it by Suburban Home e Influence Series-- a series of split 7" nds covering songs that influenced their
We Feel Alive' tour with Four Year
hat was a part of that tour and the shows .
What can you tell us about the Deluxe Rerelease of The Upsides? It features re-imagined artwork by James Heimer and four bonus tracks that the original did not have. I recommend it to anyone interested in picking up The Upsides for the first time. it's the same price as the normal release and has more content.
How is the new album coming along? It's coming out a lot easier than I expected. There's a lot of pressure with writing a follow up record both lyrically and musically. Lyrically, I'm put in a new position because we set a precedence of being a band that has both honest and relatbale lyrics but now I'm living a much less relatable life. I had to find a way to design a concept for the album that was relatable but allowed me to still be as honest as always with the lyrics and without giving it away, I think I can say that I'm confident that I've done that. Musically, we're in a similar position. I hated when my favorite bands followed up great records with 180 degree turns in another direction. We play pop punk. We're not about to make the jump to jazz fusion. However, I also hated when bands released the same record twice and so we're working on walking the fine line of expanding without changing completely. It's mostly about keeping the same center and then pulling out into new directions. I'm really happy with the songs we're writing. I think we're succeeding in what we set out to do and are creating the best music we have to date.
What is the plan for 2011 ? Release the follow up to Upsides and tour unrelentingly.
Their track Fixed At Zero has over 2 million hits on Youtube, and they've even completed two full runs of the Warped Tour! These points clearly prove that VersaEmerge are committed to achieving their goals! get ready as they are hitting our shores next month with a headline tour!
VE
Interview with
How did you guys come up with the band name VersaEmerge? Blake came up with the name when the band was going through a lot of changes with band members and musical direction. Ultimately it means to change and rise. It kind of helped define the growing process
Can you tell us just how VersaEmerge got together? Blake started the band 4 yrs ago, devin joined shortly after, the rest of the members have changed quite a few times over the years. I saw them posting on Myspace about taking auditions for a new vocalist. I had this sudden urging determination that I had to try out and be in their band. Blake thought I was a good match but the rest of the band didn't agree for the most part. I was 16 at the time, lied and said I was 17 so they would take me more serious. I ended up making the band, left my junior year of high school and we started writing and touring immediately. Since then we've released 2 eps, signed to fueled by ramen, and we just released our first LP which is about to release in the Uk!
What is it like being on the huge Fueled By Ramen? Fbr is a great family and we're happy to be apart of it. They help us down our own unique path rather then controlling it. We find that most important, especially because we have a very specific artistic vision. They help our vision come to life.
What can you tell us about your latest album 'Fixed At Zero' ? Fixed at zero is out first full length so we wanted to put out the best piece of work as a whole. We took the time to really dive into each detail of every song, from subject matter to structure. It was important that we created a journey rather then a portfolio. Fixed at zero is the journey of being lost. Lost in yourself, in the world & in life. It touches up on my own personal demons, bad habits, double sided-ness, paranoia, secrets, lies, discoveries, and belief. Fixed at zero ultimately means to be stuck in a dark place but becoming almost content with it as you're finding your way out.
The video for 'Fixed views, how does it f supporting your mu
It's a Wonderful feeling to want to help us move forw everything, I hope they a
How awesome was festival?
Bamboozle was insanity of other great acts played and so many people wer excitement we all were e busted my ass in front of crowd gasp. I recovered at myself.
You guys have also Warped Tour, what w
It's grueling, hot, dirty and tour. It's so unique and so chances to learn someth just behind the scenes. W peoples attention and do being a personable band for the weak, that's for su
ERSAEMERGE Sierra Kusterbeck Band Members Blake Harnage- guitar/vocals Sierra Kusterbeck- vocals Devin Ingledo- bass
At Zero' has well over 2 million feel to have this many people usic?
o know that people care about our music and ward as a band. Our supporters mean lways know that.
it to play the epic 'Bamboozle'
for sure. Drake, Kesha, paramore, and a lot d that year. We opened up the 2nd main stage e out there I can't even explain the xperiencing. I ran out onstage and completely thousands of people, you could hear the quickly though, I have know problem laughing
completed two full runs of the was that like?
d the most amazing time you'll ever have on a o much is going on that you have a hundred ing that will help you in the long run. That's When it comes to performing and catching ing signings, you really get a good feel of d and putting yourself out there. Warped is not ure.
What other Flordia bands would you recommend we listen too? There for tomorrow. We're actually Playin some shows with them the next few days. They are great live band and they just put out a dubstep ep, which ive learned is huge in the UK. Also one of my closest friends juliets Simms, has a band called Automatic Love letter. She has the most powerfully dirtiest voice and oozes such emotion through her music. Definitely something people need to check out, especially because she's amazing to look at as well. Also the boys ive grown up with have this fantastic band, oceana. They were recently on rise records but their sound has change tremendously and if your looking for in-depth lyrics and great musicianship then you need to listen to their new epCleanhead.
How excited are you for your upcoming UK tour? Extremely! It's been a long time and we have so much more to offer. We have a solid group of kids who are always supporting us and I can't wait to see them all again. Plus we'll be out with our great friends, we the kings, which is always a good time. Plus I always find myself in fun trouble in different countries.
Why should Stencil Mag readers come out to a UK show? Why should they not!? It's music, it's a good time and you might discover something new that will impact you. Plus we have stupid American accents.
What does 2011 hold for VersaEmerge Lots of touring. We always come up with some surprises along the way. We're going To make sure You'll be hearing the name "VersaEmerge"
“It's a huge blessing. I still can't wrap my head around it. We just are very thankful for all the listeners and supporters who picked up the record and hopefully we don't dissapoint and continue to do what we like to do.� What is it like being on the legendary Victory Records? It feels great. We definitely love being a part of it and are thankful for the relationship we have with them.
What can you tell us about your latest album, 'What Separates Me From You' ? I can tell you that it's awesome and its the most personal record to date.
How have you progressed as musicians since the release of 'Homesick' ? I would hope we got better as musicians being that we toured over 300 days last year!!! We still suck.
'Homesick' has sold over 200,000 copies, how does it feel to have your music adored by this many people? It's a huge blessing. I still can't wrap my head around it. We just are very thankful for all the listeners and supporters who picked up the record and hopefully we don't dissapoint and continue to do what we like to do.
How did the idea of covering Kelly Clarkson's 'Since U Been Gone' come about? did you expect it to get as big as it did? I have no idea I wasn't there. But I'm sure they were watching MTV and was like "dang she is sexy...let's cover the song so she hears it and maybe gives us a chance to hit it"
You've just been announced for the Warped Tour again next year, what is it you love so much about that festival? It's an outdoor festival run by amazing people. And you're surrounded with friends 24/7. What's not to like? (minus the heat)
What is it like to come to the UK and pretty much sell out every show you play? I still don't get it. It's one of our favorite places to tour. I remember trying to sell out LOCAL shows. Now they're selling out in the UK?? What's going on. I love it.
How excited are you guys for your upcoming UK shows? and what can attending fans expect? I'm excited because we are bringing a little bit of production with us this time. So it's more of a show.
How cool was it to have the song "The Downfall Of Us All" feature on the awesome Rock Band? It's great but it sucks because I couldn't even pass the song. I always failed.
You guys keep on getting bigger and bigger, what do you aim to achieve in 2011?
To keep doing what we want to do and have fun!
FOUR YEAR STRO interview with Josh Lyford
Where in the world are you at the moment, and what have you been up to recently? I am resting easily in beautiful downtown worcester massachusetts just off of the scenic highland street near excellent mexican and occasionally vegetarian tortilla sams restaurant. We have been off tour for about a week and a half, just enjoying life until we head off to indonesia, singapore and japan.
So back to the start a bit here but how did Four Year Strong get together? no one really knows. some say an old woman with a smooth black stone for her left eye and a crotchety fortuitous attitude raped a dragon slayer and conceived us. both were slain during childbirth however and we were left at the base of the tallest of worcesters seven hills. it is impossible to say why we were spared.
What can you tell us about your latest album 'Enemy of The World' ? there isn't a whole lot to say really. we worked really hard on it and we are all very proud of it, i think we were all surprised at how well it has been received.
Was the writing process for this album similar or different to the writing process for 'Rise or Die Trying' ? it was quite a bit different, in that on rise or die trying we had most of the music written before hand, whereas enemy of the world we wrote alot of the songs in the studio jamming out together. it was really nice though having all of our gear setup right in house, we could just jam whenever we wanted at any time of the day.
How come you guys decided to do a covers album? and what was that whole experience like? the experience was brief, but it was fun enough to record some cover songs. i think the content of the record took alot of people off guard, and looking back it might not have been the best idea to have told the world on april fools day that we were going to become a cover band, then immediately actually release a cover album.
ONG What can you tell us about your latest single 'Tonight We Feel Alive (On a Saturday)' ? It's one of my favorite songs on the album, and if I remember correctly , was one of the last written.
How excited are you for your UK shows with Good Charlotte, and why should their fans come out early and check you guys out? I'm really excited for this tour I've only heard good things about them as people and I think it will be a good chance to make some new fans. If people want to come out and have fun with us before the main event, we'd be stoked.
What can you remember of the UK Give It A Name introduces tour back in 2008? It was our first time in the uk and it was amazing. Made a lot of good friends, had a rellly good time.
Would you play the Slam Dunk Festival again this year if they asked you too? Slam dunk fucking ruled. I would love to get a chance to play it again.
Saying this will you be looking to play any of the other UK festivals this summer? We are crossing our fingers, but we shall see.
So you guys have played the UK a stack of times now, what is it you love so much about playing here? The people and shows in the uk are awesome, plus there's falafel everywhere which I love.
Do British fans differ from fans elsewhere in the world? Different accents, the girls seem to be pretty well endowed as a whole.
What does 2011 hold for Four Year Strong? A lot of touring, a lot of surprises, 2011 is going to be a rad year.
Band Members jackson russell massucco, joseph flanders weiss, alan clifford day, daniel patrick oconnor, joshua bo lyford.
The Maine Interview with Kennedy Brock Over 600 people turned up for their first show and now only a couple of years on they're touring the world! have a listen, The Maine are taking over!
How did The Maine get together? Pat and Garrett started the group, and John/Jared were both good friends with Pats older brother Tim (our manager). I knew most of the guys from playing local shows in another band. Jared and I replaced the two original guitarist a few months after the band began.
At your first show you had over 600 people turn up, how awesome was that? It was incredible! Everyone was pretty nervous, or at least I was.
What can you tell us about your latest album 'Black & White' ? We are very proud of this record! It was a big step forward in our song writing. We feel that we have a really cohesive group of songs.
This album sold over 22,000 copies in its first week, how does it feel to have that much love for your music? It's very humbling! We are lucky to have so much love and support.
What was it like to work with Howard Benson? He and his team worked well with us in the studio and made our recording process stress free. We had a lot of fun making the album with them.
What can you tell us about your free EP 'Daytrotter EP’ It was our first time recording to tape. We hadn't really done anything like this before. We decided to do some alternate versions of songs and added some friends to the mix. I was particularly excited to play on the great gear in the studio!
“It's very humbling! We are lucky to have so much love and support.”
“It's going to be a great tour. The fans gave us a warm welcome during our last visit, and I hope to receive the same affection this time!” In 2008 you headed out on tour with Good Charlotte and Boys Like Girls, how was this? It was amazing! We played the biggest shows we had done, at that time, and became good friends with Good Charlotte, and their crew!
You guys have confirmed a June 2011 release date for your next album, how is that coming along? We actually don't have anything planned but we are always writing.
How excited are you for your upcoming UK tour? It's going to be a great tour. The fans gave us a warm welcome during our last visit, and I hope to receive the same affection this time!
How stoked are you to also be bringing 'NeverShoutNever!' out with you to the UK? We are very excited, they have been such awesome friends over the past 2 months. We can't wait to be back on the road with them!
What does 2011 hold for The Maine? We will be touring and continually working on new material.
Any last words? thanks to you, and our dedicated fans!
The Flatliners Interview with Chris Cresswell
Band Members? Chris Cresswell - vocals + guitar Scott Brigham - guitar + vocals Jon Darbey - bass Paul Ramirez - drum
How did The Flatliners get together? Scott and I met in Kindergarten, and Jon and I grew up on the same block. So the three of us have been friends almost since infancy. One summer Scott and I went off to summer camp and met Paul there. We were 11 or 12 then. The lot of us were playing with some different people and then suddenly just morphed into the four of us jamming all the time and writing songs. We were all 14 when the band officially started. Just a few little shitheads.
What is it like being on the iconic Fat Wreck Chords? it still kind of a trip to us. We grew up on all the first-round heavy hitters on Fat; NOFX, Lagwagon, No Use, etc. And then later on found ourselves so into bands like None More Black and The Lawrence Arms and Dead to Me. So when we got the phone call from Fat Mike, asking us to join the roster, our heads kind of all exploded. In a great way. He's been one of our biggest supporters ever since, and that is just wild.
What can you tell us about your latest album 'Cavalcade'? Well, we wrote the entire thing over the course of a year and a bit of constant touring, so there's an overall sense of that kind of headspace in the songs. Going on tour is fun and all, and we love playing shows, but after a while it really forces you to live a different way and follow a different path than a lot of people do. These songs came from a period where we were all basically, what you could call in other profressions, workaholics. There are some of the heaviest songs we've ever written on there, and the same can be said about the flipside, the more mellow songs.
You had a lot of guests contribute music to the new album, how did you go about choosing these guests? It kind of all just came together. There are actually a couple friends that weren't able to appear due to the insane schedules of everyone in a band. We knew for a while that we wanted to get Nuno from A Wilhelm Scream on a song, and the opportunity basically presented itself perfectly in "Shithawks". His voice fits so well in that song. They have their own studio at home in New Bedford too, so that made it easy. Cancer Bats and Dillinger Four coming in kind of just happened. Bats are always on tour, and we happened to catch them while they were home so they came down to the studio, did most of the gang vocal parts with us, then Liam did a few lines on his own too. D4 played in Toronto while we were recording, so we basically traded them a ride to the airport and a bottle of Jameson for them to sing on "Bleed". And Fat Mike had a hand in some of the producing too, and that was awesome. Were very happy to have been able to involve all these friends in what we did on tape.
What can you tell us about the song 'Carry the Banner' other than the fact that it sounds awesome? If one song can sum up the basic theme of the entire record, its Carry the Banner. It compares the life of a touring band member being away all the time, searching for and trying to make something happen to the life of homeless people, most notably in the era of The Great Depression. The idea behind the song was something I'd been toying with for a while, as I find there are lots of parallels there.
How did it feel to tour with the legendary NOFX ? any crazy stories from the road? Were some lucky dicks to have toured with them as much as we have. And they're generous guys for bringing us along as often as they did. Scott and I have both gotten to play the end of The Decline with them. And Paul and Smelly played a trick on the rest of NOFX one night where Smelly gave up his throne for Paul on a really quick drum break in The Brews I think. None of the three along the front of the stage noticed Smelly wasn't playing drums until he tackled Mike during the song.
You guys have also toured in places like Japan and Australia, what is it like taking your music so far away from home? is it harder to communicate with the crowd? That's something were so proud of. Australia reminded us of a hotter, maybe a bit rowdier version of Canada. Japan was the greatest culture shock without a doubt. People in the crowd wil clap for only a few seconds after each song, and then seemingly all at once silence falls. It gets so quiet. And its all based on respect. These people are so interested in what the people in these bands are saying between songs. We don't really say much that's worth listening to, so it was a bit daunting for us, haha!
With so much touring going on with you guys, do you actually get time to visit locations or is it literally just play a show and move on? It really depends on where we're coming from that day or where we're heading to tomorrow. We've definitely found ourselves in cities for only a few hours sometimes, where other times we'll have multiple days in one city, so we can really explore and get local.
What has been your biggest achievement so far? I think just seeing the natural progression of the band, as musicians, as a family, and as some specific entity. Were very proud of everything we've accomplished. Not everyone gets to do this, and we know that were lucky.
How excited are you to be coming back to the UK ? It should be a blast. The shows in the UK are always fun. The Arteries and OK Pilot are both amazing bands and have become friends of ours, so we're sure to have a good time. Plus we like Newcastle Ale a LOT too.
What does 2011 hold for you? The UK tour is the first of the year for us. We'll probably hit some places we haven't in a while and write another record. We've always had a pretty basic plan. We like to have fun, so we go out and have fun. Its worked so far.
Rece due t Reco store
Interview with Jon Tolley
Introduce yourself Hi. Im Jon Tolley. Im an indie kid / punk-er in the body of a 33-year old and the the boss / MD of Banquet Records. This means I have the most fun and the most stressful parts of what we do.
How did Banquet Records start out? Banquet was formed from the ashes of the retail arm of Beggars Banquet. Pushing 8 years ago now, The Beggars Group (still a very successful multinational record label) decided to get rid of the retail arm of what it does. It was sold to the then manager who then sold it on to us/me when it was a week away from going bust. We bought it for a pound, took on the debts and that was the beginning of Banquet as we know it.
When did you decide to start doing club nights and special in store gigs? Well, (Beggars) Banquet has already been doing this. Albeit not as often and but the idea of putting on instores was always there. When I started here (about ten years ago) most of the staff were DJing somewhere to supplement a poor income (a long standing tradition which is still present in many record stores). Having taken over Banquet there was a conscious decision to put the shows and clubs side of what we were doing under a Banquet umbrella so to speak. This meant we could pool more resources and book bigger bands from various music types without there being too much risk to the individual involved. The shop would get the benefit, the kids would get the fun, and the staff would get the thrill of being involved. Instores are a great way of putting on a special and unique show. Some of the instores we’ve done have been amongst the best gigs I’ve ever been to.
You have had an epic amount of bands play in your store, which sessions have you enjoyed the most though? Its hard to judge this. As a music fan, King Blues, Mystery Jets, Futurehead, Two Door Cinema Club, Frank Turner and Four Year Strong stand out. But when you’re involved in putting on shows, as im sure many of your readers will know, the thrill isn’t just about what you love but its often about the event and the buzz that is created. So bands like Jamie T, You Me At Six, White Lies, Laura Marling and Noah And The Whale all playing our modest sized store when they were all riding high in the charts was a real thrill.
Saying this, who would you really love to have play in store next? I’d like to see The Maccabees here. And I really love it when hardcore/punk bands strip their songs down and play acoustically. Man Overboard recently did so and the vibe there was great. Four Year Strong remains one of the best.. But generally, if there’s people wanting to see a band, AND the band wants to play, then if we can facilitate this without it being a massive money loser, then yeah, we’re totally up for it. Tigers Jaw is our next instore, and an acoustic show from them is a special thing!
ently we heard that HMV are going to be closing a bunch of their stores, which is to the massive rise of digital downloads, but NOTHING is going to stop Banquet ords as they are a prime example of how to run and maintain an independent music e!
How hard/or easy is it to survive selling music in this day and age? Its just different. When I first started working in this record shop in Kingston, there were two independent indie stores, two other dance record shops, Tower Records, and two Our Prices and one of Virgin or HMV – I cant remember which. But that was really before most people downloaded. Downloading exists, and is in no way a bad thing, - but sure it has lessened the sales of physical product. So the challenge left to retailers and to record labels is to give people a reason to want to buy a physical product rather than simply trying to stop people downloading, illegally or otherwise. So you see some record labels, from US label Paper & Plastik to Oxford label BSM, doing amazing things with packaging, and plenty more giving free downloads to folk buying the vinyl release. There’s just not enough demand to keep every indie store from ten years ago open, but those that are left are pretty strong nowadays, from what I know anyway.
Is it awesome to have so many people backing your store, people that are not even from your area still purchase products on-line just so they can keep an amazing independent store like yours running smoothly Yeah. And its appreciated. We try to make the web site and online representation of what the store is too. That means there’s our priority releases immediately obvious, but also that we try to give, wherever possible, a genuine introduction to each release. We always try to refrain from just copying a press release (although of course we do that from time to time). We allow the online community to benefit from our instore be that with signed stock, videos of instores or stocking exclusives available at shows only. And the online customers reflect our instore ones. Some shop with us solely for price, some do for the customer service (which we do pride ourselves on) and some keep coming back cos they get what we’re trying to do and care about where their money goes and what is done with it.
“We’d been friends with Set Your Goals since we put out their first UK release on our Gravity DIP label. They slept on our floor on their first UK tour which Dave House” How did you guys get Set Your Goals backing Vinnie for a special Movielife set? as Kingston was the only place to put on this amazing event under banquet records! Yeah, that was special. We’d been friends with Set Your Goals since we put out their first UK release on our Gravity DIP label. They slept on our floor on their first UK tour which Dave House (then from The Steal now from Pacer, and also a solot artist in his own right) helped book / promote. In fact they broke our roof when goofing about outside so maybe they thought they owed us one(!). I dunno they did some “movielife” shows in the US and asked us if we wanted to do one in Kingston. Of course we were so up for that, having always been Movielife and SYG fans… I guess they knew they could trust us to promote and run the show well and its just friends helping friends at the end of the day. It was also SYG who sorted out that secret New Found Glory show at the 100 capacity Fighting Cocks venue back in May, which was one of the greatest things I’ve ever been involved with.
How did you guys go about getting Capdown to play their warm up show in Kingston ? Capdown was very similar to the above. We’d been friends with Capdown for a long long time. Jane, who runs our mail order, was putting them on before I’d ever put on a gig (she taught me the gravity way), we released a couple of records for them on our Gravity DIP label and they really did need a warm up before their first gig back for a good few years. We were stoked to be able to do that!
How important do you think independent music stores are to their local community? Fundamentally so. Someone said recently that Kingston punches above its weight in terms of what shows / music scene we have here. And a lot of it is because we have this entity that can support so many others. It can act as a centre for a music scene. One which can support new bands, old bands, music fans, musicians and record labels because if we don’t do so, then we cease to exist.
Any last words? Thanks for the time and exposure. We know that we don’t exist if people don’t help us out, so thanks to everyone that does.
“One which can support new bands, old bands, music fans, musicians and record labels because if we don’t do so, then we cease to exist”
Tom Beck started this record label three years ago, now he works with bands such as Cuba Cuba and Tiger Please, both brilliant rising UK bands. Stencil Mag catches up with Tom to find out just what it's like to run and create your own record label! Introduce yourself I’m Tom Beck, I’m 26, I’m from Watford and I run Walnut Tree Records
How did Walnut Tree Records start? The label started in 2007, I’d been involved in fanzines, webzines, distribution and tour support for alternative bands for a few years but I really wanted to have more of an input in the actual releases themselves. I’d fallen out of love with music after doing an internship at a major label and starting my own label was my way of trying to grab my passion back. Seems to have worked well!
When did you decide that this is what you wanted to do with your life? I’d say from the age of 15 really. One of my best friends let me borrow some of his brothers CDs, bands like MxPx, Pennywise, Ten Foot Pole and Blink-182’s earlier releases – and I was hooked on alternative music from there. I started up blink182.co.uk and then moved onto helping smaller UK bands with fanzines and reviewing / interview for various webzines. This carried on through school and then at University I was selling merch for bands or acting as a tour manager occasionally. When I graduated I applied for an internship at Polydor Records, part of Universal and haven’t really looked back. After finishing a six month internship, where to be honest I was treated purely as free labour rather than been taught the industry, I was fortunate enough to be offered a full time role at the same major but in a production role. I wasn’t exposed to the same front line staff as much and I was now getting paid for my time, the knock on being that I could spend more and that’s how I fund this label still. Walnut Tree Records is a part time label so I’m not as immersed as I’d like to be, but my full time job helps me considerably.
T Interview with
How hard/or easy is it to run your own Record Label? It’s as hard or as easy as you’d like it to be. However if you don’t put in the hard work then you’re never likely to see any rewards. Some days I’ll work at my full time job from 9 til 7, and then sit at home working on the label until midnight. Even then I still don’t have even time or resources to achieve what I’d like, but at least I’m giving it a go. I’m constantly looking for ways to push my label or the bands, so if that means slogging it out then so be it. I do enjoy it though, if I didn’t then this would seem too much like a chore to me.
How do you go about picking a band that you want for your label? The music itself is the big draw for me, that’s the most important thing to start with. If I don’t love the music a band makes then I’d struggle to want to put the effort into them. From there I like to get to know the band members themselves, their work ethic, the people that help them out. There’s nothing worse than finding a really awesome band that end up being lazy or unrealistic, or one where they’re managed by someone hard to work alongside. I never really think about how ‘sellable’ a band are though – it’s probably naïve from a business point of view, but I’ve always run this label more as a hobby than to make it big.
“One of my best friends let me borrow some of his brothers CDs, bands like MxPx, Pennywise, Ten Foot Pole and Blink-182’s earlier releases – and I was hooked on alternative music from there” What advice would you give to someone who wants to start up their own record label? It sounds dull, but be realistic and sensible with how much money you spend. Brand new labels aren’t expected to offer the world to bands or achieve everything they want with their first release. If you’re in this for the right reasons then you’ll know that it might be years before anything resembling success might come along, and to get to that stage requires a lot of work and a hefty slice of luck too. There’s nothing worse than seeing new labels burn out after a few releases or give up because their first band haven’t ‘made it big’. One really good piece of advice would be to approach the labels you love and ask them for guidance too. I’m still constantly asking other labels like BSM, Alcopop and Scylla Records when I’m un-sure on something. There are plenty of like minded people involved in music out there to help you.
So How did you end up signing the amazing Tiger Please? When we were taking submissions for bands to appear on Punktastic UnScene 5 I was contacted by Ryan, Tiger Please’s manager, with the bands demo and asked if they could be included. The five songs were great and I decided that ‘The City Is’ would be one of the first confirmed tracks for the compilation. From there the release ran its course for a few months and then I had another email from Ryan to ask if I’d like to see them play in Oxford and meet everyone. The meeting went well and I was really chuffed to be asked my opinion on how to improve the tracks and what I’d make of a release. I knew I was onto something special when I found out that half the band were still in school. I assumed they were older than myself when I first heard the sound! The band have grown so much in the past 18
months and I’d like to think I’ve played a part in that. Some of the bands on your label have picked up coverage from Kerrang! and Rock Sound how rewarding does this feel? It feels brilliant. My first two years as a label were harder than I expected, but suddenly from the Summer of 2009 I broke into the mainstream magazines and the confidence that gave me is immeasurable. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not necessarily the only mark of success for a small label but the coverage helps you attract more support across the industry. It certainly wouldn’t have been possible without the bands themselves; it’s their music that gets the attention more than anything. I also really do believe that it’s important to gain support from the up and coming press, such as Stencil Mag, and the webzines like AlterThePress and Punktastic. You guys are just as important as the rest and I can’t thank you enough for giving me a platform to promote my label from.
Tom Beck
You teamed up with Punktastic.com to release 'Punktastic Un-Scene 5' how did this idea come about? The idea came about from having a good relationship with Paul Savage, who owned Punktastic at the time of the release. I was a big fan of his own label, Punktastic Recordings, and looked to him for help with my own constantly. I was about to close the label down and decided that going out with a big free to download release would be a great way to end it all. The format was largely Paul’s idea, especially the charity aspect of it. We worked well as a team, I’d coordinate all of the track submissions and setting up the website, and he worked on the publicity. We have had over 3500 downloads and raised £350 for Everyman cancer campaign and the label, rather than shutting down, exploded from that point onwards. I signed three bands off the back of the compilation and I’m always surprised when I meet someone and they’d downloaded it.
You guys also provide hard to reach albums from North America, how did this idea come about? and how hard is this to maintain (business wise)? I’ve been running this service since 2006 and it came about because quite a few of my friends were finding great new bands on Myspace each day but were put off from buying a physical CD by the price. I was the same, I’d find a band like The Amber Fashion but I wasn’t prepared to pay £15 after tax and shipping for one copy of their album. It’s a shame when people want to buy a product but can’t justify the price, and I thought I knew a way round this. I started contacting the bands directly and asking if I could buy 10 at a time for cost price and postage, and most were excited to be involved. I’ve worked with bands like Four Year Strong and The Wonder Years, who have moved onto bigger and better things now – but at the time I was the only person in the UK stocking their releases. Some bands wouldn’t reply and some wouldn’t understand what I trying to do, that’s still the case now. It’s fairly easy to maintain too, I stock very small amounts at a time and so the risks are low to me and the bands. I also pay up front for my stock, so the bands know that I can be trusted.
Is there a band out there you would really love to sign soon? This is an awkward question – there are a few bands that I’ve been in contact with but if I named them it could blow the deal. I can say that the three releases I’m pitching for are all UK based bands and all three want to release a full length. If we’re talking about dream bands, then I’d love to work with either Hey Mercedes or Piebald.
In a short time you've come a long way, what's next for Walnut Tree Records? New releases from my current bands, and if things go to plan I’ll be adding even more to my roster in the next few months. I’m going to push Walnut Tree Records TV quite hard once the next episode is out too, I want to reach as many people as I can while still maintaining that personal touch. I have big plans for this label, let’s hope they all come off!
Any last words? Thanks for giving me the chance to speak about my label. The more people supporting UK music the better.
She's took pictures of some of the biggest bands in the world and now we get to find out what this is like! Introduce yourself Hi I'm Marianne, or Mar as most people call me. I'm a music and portrait photographer from the South West of the UK. I like noisy music, tattoos, drummers, marmite, trifle, and cats. In that order, oh and I also work for Monster Energy UK
When did you realize photography is what you wanted to do with your life? Quite a long time after I bought a camera actually! I bought my first DSLR at the end of 2005 and spent a long time shooting local bands because it was a good excuse to get out of the house and do something more exciting than being a housewife. It all got out of hand if you like...the more bands I met the more shows I found myself going to, and my work got better and better. Bands started putting my pics online and using them on their Myspace profiles. I did some work for a few music magazines and was given some amazing opportunities like shooting Download in 2006. That was probably a turning point...I was completely wowwed by the whole experience. I didn't really ever consider making it a career when I started but there was this big wave I couldn't stop so decided to just roll with it and see where it took me. It's only been the last couple of years that I've thought 'yep I've found something I'm good at, and what I'm truly happy doing with my life'.
Can you tell us a little bit about the equipment you use? I have two Canon EOS bodies, a 30D and a 40D. I also use Canon Speedlites, stands, umbrellas and radio triggers for model/band shoots.The 40D was a gift a few years ago from a photographic webstore. Pretty amazing endorsement tbh! More like that please!
How long did it take you to settle on your current equipment choices? Ah it's not so much a case of settling on equipment as it is having little choice in the matter; I bought what I could afford at the time. I love using Canon though...that was a definite choice. I just badly need to upgrade all my gear and even though I prefer having a strobist setup for portraits and band shoots because it's so mobile, I'd really love a studio lighting kit for indoor shoots. Having said that though I seem to have managed really well with my 30d for the last 4 years, and I've become quite adept at editing my images. The bands I work with currently don't care what I'm using...they know I can take great pics for them, and I know I can do good things with the equipment I do have, but other people's perception of what a professional photographer should use starts to come into play at a certain point. It's making me more and more conscious of my equipment even though it shouldn't.
Charles Holmes
BrokeNcyde
BIG DEAL CLOTHING
So you recently got back from taking pictures of BMTH, how was this experience? That was the 24th or 25th time I've shot Bring Me The Horizon believe it or not! I shot them a lot of times from 2006-2007, when they were playing tiny venues mostly. The shows were crazy times: kids going mental, climbing on and leaping off the stage, jumping from balconies. How I managed to stay in the pits at some of them without being mullered I'll never know. The Wembley show was the first time I've shot them in nearly 2 years; they were wicked I'll give them that. Shows back in the day were probably all about the atmosphere and the mayhem for me, more than the musicianship, at the weekend they impressed me on all counts. Their set was cut short, I thought because they ran over, but was because the venue had told them not to incite moshpits etc...during their last song Oli said 'You know what to do!' and apparently that along with several previous warnings during their set was enough for Wembley to pull the plug, which was a shame. Matt trashed his drum kit at the end though which was great, just picked up the bass drum and threw it into the cymbals etc. There's a video on youtube. Certainly went out in style.
How cool is it to have bands use your photos on their albums/eps? My pics have been used in 15 albums/EPs to date, the 16th one is out in January (Glamour of the Kill 'The Summoning'). I think having images used by any client in such a way is an ultimate high for a photographer having them used in any way is awesome, but image longevity is so short with bands anyway, 3 -6 months later they've changed their Myspace layout, are promoting new releases and wanting new images to go with that. Music publications are in circulation for a week or a month - the circulation is often greater, but the images are looked at, commented on and then mostly forgotten really, by the general public anyway. Cds last much longer. Plus the images used in them are chosen by the bands themselves. I get really excited when bands want to use my pics in their artwork. It gives me a massive feeling of self achievement.
Is taking press shots easier or harder than taking live shots? Hmm they're just different. Almost as different as comparing wedding photography and landscape photography. They require a slighty different 'eye' and definitely different techniques. Promo/press images are more thought about, planned, you have ideas to work with, you can take as much time as you like, it's fairly predictable, and you can spend time setting up lighting and find locations to suit those ideas and acquire the images that are needed exactly how you want them. You're in control. With live photography you're on the balls of your feet, you (usually) have time constraints, you have little or no control over the lighting, there are lots of other people around you to consider and the unpredictability factors are high. Unless it's a band you've shot more than once already you just don't know what to expect, and even if you have you still need to be able to think quick and be ready for anything they might do. Live photography is more exciting I think, but I get huge amounts of job satisfaction from promo shoots.
When you're on personal terms with bands like Enter Shikari, Young Guns or The Blackout, how hard is it to stay focused and get a great shot? I actually think that knowing the band I'm shooting makes my job infinitely easier. And perhaps that's part of the reason why I prefer and choose to shoot bands I already know. I feel far more self conscious about my presence at shows when I'm shooting bands I have never seen or met, or maybe don't know so well. I don't think I'm at my best. I know for sure that that affects the kinds of pics I get because I like to shoot a certain way ie using flash and being fairly active....moving around to different positions and getting different perspectives on shows like shooting from stages so that the audience is in the pics or close ups of drummers, and really you can't do that with bands you don't know. It's too intrusive, especially when there are lots of other photographers at the show too. It doesn't help that sometimes I'm a bit shy meeting people for the first time either. Those that know me will surely think that's not like me at all I know, but I need some kind of welcoming gesture like a smile or a 'hey' from someone before I feel confident enough to talk to them. Once I know them they can't shut me up!
When I'm shooting bands I know and have shot before I feel more relaxed, I know what to expect from them so can get better shots, I know what kind of pics they prefer, and what I can and can't do. And I don't feel like I'm intruding quite so much, I get a bit braver and am more adventurous and enthusiastic about trying to get the 'awesome' pics. And I'm pretty sure that they're more comfortable about it too, and I know lots of bands who play up to the camera for me. The disadvantage of course with shooting bands you know and have shot lots before is that it becomes harder every time to get something new you haven't got before. But then most bands are beautifully unpredictable live...keeps it interesting.
“My pics have been used in 15 albums/EPs to date, the 16th one is out in January (Glamour of the Kill 'The Summoning'). I think having images used by any client in such a way is an ultimate high for a photographer�
You also took pictures at the awesome Hevy Fest, how was that? Hevy Fest was genuinely one of my favourite events I did this year. I spent 4 days in the company of people I absolutely love and I met lots of new friends, had such a good laugh. The lineup was made up of some of my favourite UK bands, and lots I didn't know but was just as excited about shooting...like Trash Talk and Glassjaw. And the festival was just soo well organised, the site was perfect and all the staff were lovely and really accommodating. I spent most of the weekend, when not shooting bands, camped out with the Big Deal, Sinstar and MacBeth guys in the clothing market, along with members of Shadows Chasing Ghosts, the Big Deal models Jen and Emz and all the people that came our way randomly during the weekend. We had awesome barbeques, drank copious amounts of vodka/Monster and went to be entertained by the monkeys and gorillas in the Safari park next to the site. So many comedy moments in the campsite too. I would happily relive that weekend again.
How fun was it doing a shoot with the awesome Skindred (also in this issue) ? Ahhh Skindred. Omg what a f*cking amazing band! I'd seen them play a few times since 2006 maybe....but despite Benji coming over and saying hi at a few of them had never properly met the band til this year. I've known their manager for ages...years really....I can't even remember how I met him but I remember him emailing me last summer saying 'ooh you'll like this so I thought I'd let you know I'm now managing Skindred', and then me spending the next year or so asking him if I could do a shoot with them. At Sonisphere last year he gave me permission to shoot from the stage and the band loved the pics, which was cool. And still I was asking him if I could do a shoot with them. Then at Slam Dunk in Leeds this year I got my chance. I turned up in their dressing room saying 'hey let's do a shoot' having the blessing of their manager, and Benji was brilliant. He got his furry hat out and dressed up for me, posed like the true rockstar he is, and we got some great pics. And I finally had a chance to have a proper chat with him. He's one of the best front men the UK has to offer I think, and they consistently put on ace shows. I'm so happy I got to shoot press shots for them and hopefully we'll do something else at some point too.
“Who knows. More of the same I guess...I’m always striving for more, but ultimately I'm happy with what I'm doing. I mean how can I not be happy with hanging out with and working with such awesome people, “
Hayley Williams
What other photo shoots have stuck out in your memory and why? In May this year (2010) I went out to a Belgian event called Blackstar Fest with Shadows Chasing Ghosts, and at this event I got chatting to a guy called Cisko. I showed him my book and he said he knew my work, would I do a shoot with his band. So I took them to the field next to the festival site and literally spent 5 minutes taking a few pics. It was all a bit rushed because they were about to play. They were really lovely but I didn't get the chance to talk to them all properly, I spoke to Cisko mostly for the rest of the day. I shot their set too and was really impressed with their live stuff. When I got home I looked them up, Eyes Set To Kill, and nearly choked when I saw how many friends they had on Myspace and discovered they were just a bit bigger than I'd realised. I'd probably have taken a bit more time to do those pics had I known at the time, but they really liked them, their label bought them off me and they used them for press etc so it all worked out. Another shoot that really sticks out in my memory, maybe the most, is back in June 2008. I went to see A Day To Remember play in Cardiff Barfly with The Devil Wears Prada. It was the first time TDWP had been here and the hype around the tour was quite big. I'd been a fan of both bands for ages, and I was so exciting about seeing them play. ADTR's tour manager at the time asked me if I'd take a few pics for them and I remember thinking 'hell yes!' I didn't have any lighting or anything with me, we just wandered around Cardiff museum and ended up on the green out the front. Tom Denning, who has since left the band, suggested we do jump shots. Funniest thing watching him try...we took about a dozen pics before he got it right. I was on such a high after that shoot, got back to the venue and Jeremy from TDWP said 'hey you wanna do some with us too?'. Pretty much the best day ever. I was so happy. And then ADTR put that jump shot in their album 'Old Record' later that year. My eldest son was like 'no f*cking way!' when I got my copy through and showed him. He's a massive ADTR fan and thought that was just the greatest thing ever.
You've worked with so many amazing bands, who would you really love to work with next and why? The band I most want to shoot promos for at the mo is Skunk Anansie. 10 years ago I was a MASSIVE fan, then they reformed and a guy in a band I did a shoot with last year showed their guitarist my work. He then emailed me to say hi and tell me he really liked my pics, and invited me to go shoot one of their shows. And then rang me one evening when I was at home, just to have a chat. Was probably one of the most surreal moments of my photography career to date. I went to see them at their comeback tour warm up show in Portsmouth, and was totally blown away. We keep in touch and I've been to see them again since. They're hands down one of the best live bands I've seen and I would LOVE to work with them at some point in the future. I've told him I really want to, but they're such a massive band that I don't think I'd even ever be taken seriously about it, but we'll see.
Photography wise, what does the future hold for you? Who knows. More of the same I guess...always striving for more, but ultimately I'm happy with what I'm doing. I mean how can I not be happy with hanging out with and working with such awesome people, and seeing amazing bands play? Maybe I'll end up with a studio shooting old ladies dogs or babies, or holding seminars or something, but for now I'm going to enjoy discovering and supporting great new UK music.
He’s done graphics for Pink Floyd, Muse and Biffy Clyro! his work has inspired people all over the world and it’s a pleasure to have him in this issue of Stencil Mag, do we really need to say anything else? read on to discover one of UKs finest talents! Introduce yourself
Storm portrait photo by Rupert Truman
My name is Storm Thorgerson, my name comes from Norway but I was born in Potters Bar, just outside London. I grew up in Cambridge but have spent my adult life living in London.
Where are you in the world at the moment, and what have you been up to recently? I am on xmas holiday in Cape Town, where my wife comes from.
When did you decide graphic design is what you wanted to do with your life? Circumstance decided for me in 1968, when I volunteered to do the art for Saucerful Of Secrets for the Floyd since a mutual friend had declined. Previously we had as a bunch of enthusiastic students been fooling around with designing book covers for a friend in the manner of film stills because, three of us were at film school (royal college of art) at the time.
Saying this, What is it you love so much about graphic design? The thrill of invention. Witnessing our ideas/ designs/ dreams become reality, both as an event or sculpture and as a printed item.
What can you tell us about your current workplace 'StormStudios' ? StormStudios is a design outfit specialising in designing for contemporary music and rock'n'roll and loosely comprises a core of freelance members, Peter Curzon, Dan Abbott, Rupert Truman, Lee Baker and myself
When your designing a front cover, where do you get your inspiration from? do you have to listen to the music or? The music always comes first, it's our central point of departure the most usual source of inspiration and we listen to it repeatedly. We might not have to listen to the music, but we invariably choose to. We also read the lyrics from the band, and given half a chance, inundate them with questions.
Does it annoy you when people think your work is computer generated? Not really, to be honest. We always or nearly always do stuff "for real", whatever people may think or not. I care much more about whether they like it or not.
How did you end up working for Pink Floyd? and what was this whole experience like? you even did work on one of the biggest albums of all time 'The Dark Side of the Moon' By luck, as I mentioned above. I knew most of them from school but only worked for them much later on.
How did you go about working with a band like Muse, did they come to you? or were they someone you wanted to work with? They approached us after taking fancy to a rough idea they saw on our website. I think that's the only time it's happened like that.
What was it like working with Biffy Clyro on the graphics for 'Only Revolutions' and 'Puzzle' ? Excellent! Good band, interesting and exciting music and all in all a pleasure to work with. We've also designed ten single covers for them, so maybe they like us too.
Will you be looking to work with them again in the future? We hope so.
Is there an artist out there (who you have not worked with) that you would really love to work with next? Yes, many, Bob Dylan, Bonnie Raitt, Radiohead, The Orb, Elbow, Keb Mo, Diana Krall etc etc etc
Looking back at all the amazing covers you've done, which ones have stuck out in your mind the most The ones we've done recently, simply because they're the ones we've done recently
What does 2011 hold for Storm Thorgerson? More Life, I hope!
.
..
...
....
.Pink Floyd - The Dark Side of the Moon (1993 CD version) design & photography Storm Studios ..Biffy Clyro - Puzzle (2007) design & photography Storm Studios ...Audioslave - Audioslave (2002) design & photography Storm Studios ....Muse - Absolution (2003) design & photography Storm Studios
Developer. Blizzard Platform(s). PC, MAC UK Release date: Out now RATED: 16 (Online only) (Requires all previous expansions)
WORLD OF WARCRAFT CATACLYSM artwork copyright blizzard 2011
It was 2004 that the first instalment of World of Warcraft appeared on our shelves, since then we have seen the release of 2 expansions The Burning Crusade and Wrath of the Lich King. Both were incredible achievements and added a great deal of depth and longevity to the game. However it has to be said that Cataclysm is the most eagerly awaited expansion to date. With 12million subscribers hungry for new content especially those that had felt the lull of post Lich King kills. It was about time for the masters of Massively Multiplayer Online games to raise the bar once more. For those completely unfamiliar to the WoW I will do my best to give a brief overview, but I do suggest you visit: http://eu.battle.net/wow/en/game/guide/what-is-wow for more details. WoW is a MMOG Massively Multiplayer Online game, that follows the war between two factions the Horde (The stereotypical evil fantasy races, Orcs, Trolls etc…) and the Alliance (the ‘good’ guys, Humans, Dwarfs, Gnomes etc..). You begin your game by picking a name, race (customise appearance) and a role for example: Rob the human Warrior. Then you are free to begin your journey, through quests and killing things you will gain experience making you stronger. Loot will also be obtained through your successes, weapons and armour will enhance your ability to fight. Most importantly WoW is a game that encourages team work finding a guild (group of players) within your chosen Faction is key when you reach the more challenging aspects of the game, Dungeons 5man, Raids 10 or 25 require a great deal of co-operation. WoW is a hugely vast game; this review will only look at features in the new expansion, as I said if your interested to know more about the basics visit the address above. There were 60 levels in the original WoW, Burning Crusade saw that number increased to 70 and Wrath to 80, Cataclysm sees that number increased to 85 will those 5 levels be worth the hype? Much of the ‘hype’ around this new expansion has been story lead, so what’s it all about? Cataclysm focuses on Deathwings re-emergence into the world. Deathwing is an ancient dragon previously known as Neltharion the earth warder, charged with protecting the planet. Neltharion was corrupted by the twisted Old Gods and now they are ready to unleash him as Deathwing the harbinger of destruction, all he desires is to bring ‘pain’ and ‘agony’ to Azeroth. His mere emergence has caused the world to crumble and he is still on a rampage! All rather epic I know, but how does this translate into the game-play. Those familiar to the WoW universe are in for a treat, turns out Deathwings rampage of destruction has given those amazing developers at Blizzard a chance to Re-invigorate the old world. To Breath life into some zones that were feeling their age for example Thousand needles once a desert is now flooded. Something that becomes quickly apparent is the close link between story and quests, Blizzard have put a lot of effort into this ‘we want to have the players feel like there taking a part in the course of the action’ Cory Stockton Lead content designer. Quests definitely feel narrative driven, as apposed to previous expansions where you would often find yourself collecting some spider legs for some no-one in the middle of a forest and thinking ‘why am I doing this again?’ Whether you are killing Deathwings minions or saving animals, everything is done for a reason and your actions affect each zone. Old quests have been tweaked noting that this expansion is not just cosmetic, Blizzard have really gone all out to improve their product in every way. The long awaited ability to fly in the old world is a joy and now even a month into release it still makes me smile.
The link between quest and story is most evident when you come to level in the new zones where the continued use of phasing, first seen in Wrath allowing players to experience the world differently depending on how far they are in the quest line. You really begin to see your actions making a difference and trust me 80-85 is a rollercoaster of a story. The new zones see WoW breaking new territory with the much talked about underwater world of Vashj’ir, where it is clear Blizzard have put in a lot of time to ensure players enjoy a change of scene. However even the addition of an underwater mount and the new ‘sea legs’ allowing you to walk on the bottom of the ocean still didn’t quite cut it for me. As much as the zone is impressive to look at, I just didn’t enjoy being underwater for that length of time especially when it came to being attacked by other players, often I would be left thinking ‘where the hell is that coming from, ‘o i’m dead’ I think this is very much evidence that 3d PvP doesn’t work. The Vashj’ir quest-line did end better than it started making it worth the annoyance, besides Cataclysm has a lot more to offer than an underwater gimmick. The real action would come in the Twilight Highlands where the finale of the story comes to a head, again no spoilers! But trust me when I say this has to be the place where it all goes down. Other than the ones I have mentioned there are 3 other new zones Mount Hyjal a large mountainous region with trees and caves, Deepholm an underground gem filled chasm from which Deathwing arose and my favourite on a cosmetic level Uldum an Egyptian themed Nile delta (yes this means you can ride Camels), Uldum also happens to have some of the funniest quests ever seen, so be sure to check it out. Its not only quests that have been given a narrative roll, Blizzard have also considered the contribution Dungeons and raids can have in expanding the story. MMOGs have often struggled with the balance of story and game-play but Cataclysm seems to have married the two in perfect harmony.
The best example of this is seen in the new races starting zones, they need to be interesting enough for veteran players but easy enough for noobs. On top of that they need to tell the story of how they came to join the war and choose a side. The Goblins are as expected very tongue and cheek, so expect some fun questing My personal favourite was driving around in a Goblin car with what can only be described as your gang, yet again I want to avoid spoilers lets just say you join the Horde with a bang. The Worgen (Werewolves) are possibly the coolest race ever to grace WoW. Their gothic starting zone is a real lore rich environment that explains the Worgens relationship to the Alliance and their return to the frontline of the battle against the Horde. Player vs Player combat has been in need of an overhaul for a while now, without going into a great amount of detail the game feels more balanced. As always there are a few classes that are overpowered but PvP certainly feels more enjoyable than Wrath, with only one exception. Tol-Barad will at first feel like a lot of fun purely on the basis that it’s a new place to kick the crap out of the opposing faction. However you will quickly find yourself feeling ‘this is another grind’. What is worse Tol-Barad is nothing compared to its predecessor Wintergrasp was epic. This is a poor replacement with a 40 per side limit the busier servers will find it hard just to get in, its just a shame they put some awesome items there so people will repeat the quests and tedious battle just for that, I know I will. As always Blizzard make an effort on all aspects of their games, sound and visuals are top notch with music scores from Jason Hayes and more great voice acting from fan favourites such as Chris Metzen as Thrall. Visuals have also been given some much needed polish, such as the way water is rendered (important for Vahj’ir) the game overall just looks better Blizzard explains ‘there will be incremental tweaks and updates to the graphics engine in this expansion’ I believe this is Blizzards way of adding some anti-aging cream to the World of Warcraft.
artwork copyright blizzard 2011
.
This expansion feels like the best yet quests, dungeons and PvP have all been improved. Blizzard certainly know what they’re doing, though I managed to level from 80-85 in 20hours and do all the quests in around 40hours I felt like the experience was worth the wait. There is of course the obligatory extension on professions, with a few particularly awesome additions namely transforming your self into a dragon! achieved through Alchemy, on top of the old favourites we see the addition of Archaeology. This turned out to be nothing special, as with many things in WoW its just another thing to do, with some nice rewards at the end of it.
The Longevity of Cataclysm isn’t within quests, it can be found in the company of others. Guilds have been the same since launch in 2005, Cataclysm introduces the new guild levelling system where by members actions level up the guild, Blizzard are promoting teamwork like never before and the rewards are great. Sum-up Now I thought this would be the easy bit, as I of course think the game is fantastic. However I am not reviewing the game for me. So put simply, WoW can be a hard game to get into its been around for 6years giving it a very hardcore clientele that can at times be very ‘noob’ unfriendly. For the new player the game can seem overwhelming, my advice then is to ask around your friends or put a shout out on Facebook or twitter. Find someone to guide you through the game, join a guild that is ‘new player’ friendly. There is a huge amount of fun to be had from WoW surrounded by the right people it is the best game ever made. I can honestly say that levels 80-85 feel amazing and I look forward to fighting Deathwing sometime in 2012. Free 10day trial, try before you buy, any questions get in cpntact. https://eu.battle.net/account/creation/wow/signup/
Rob Knapper
Kinect artwork copyright microsoft 2011
HANDS-ON VERDICT!
Late 2010 we finally saw the release of Kinect the motion sensor technology that enables player to game without a controller. I, like many people saw the tech demos and thought ‘yeah that looks great but I’ll reserve my opinion till I see it working at home’ so the time has come, I have my £129.99 slick white box. I will admit as I open it I can only hope its not a complete waste of money. The true test is the Xmas period I have lots of parties planned and a not very videogame enthusiastic family I would love to convert. I will break this review down into most likely questions, as I imagine there is a lot of doubt surrounding this technology. So the first question most people will have is does it work? The short answer is ‘Yes better than I thought it would’ stories of lag and un-accurate movements seem to be blown out of proportion, yes of course sometimes it will miss something but in all honesty this happens very rarely especially in comparison to other motion controlled systems.
How easy is it to use? So long as you have the space in-front of your TV it couldn’t be easier to set-up, the sensor will scan your room and measure the distance between you and the TV, it will give you detailed readings and tell you the optimum distance. You will notice the sensor moving as it scans. WARNING: do not attempt to move the sensor with your hands as this can break it. Once you are set up if your anything like me you will end up just dancing around in order to make your avatar dance… however if you’re not as cool as me, you might want to go through the menu screens and learn about how Kinect allows you to navigate using hand and voice activation. So you’ve got to grips with the Tech what next? Get your friends round and play games!
e What sort of games game can I play on it? I am not going to go into reviews of the games more an overview of what’s available, so far the current range of games for Kinect seem to be what I describe as Mini games. I believe this is for a number of reasons 1) they serve as tech demos, allowing people to get used to what the system is capable of. 2) the Wii proved that this is a huge market, that Microsoft has yet to break 3) with its release just before Xmas many people (like myself) will get Kinect to play with their friends and families. The two games I will recommend is Kinect Sports, a game that includes (X sports) with a number of different modes it will have you entertained for hours. The boxing is fantastic and if it wasn’t bad enough your friends laughing at you as you play, it records a video of your manic movement. O the humiliation, trust me its worth it for all the fun you have. The Second game I am going to recommend is Kinectimals if you loved having virtual pets then this really is the next step, you get to have a pet tiger‌ what more do you want.
Summed up: All my worries have subsided Kinect works! It is far more than a tech demo. It is a real platform for gaming, whether you are looking for casual games to play with your mates or just a massive fan of technology. This is certainly the premium motion controlled system, Time will tell whether the platform moves beyond the casual games market, but when it is this fun does it really need to? With a reported 8million sold in 60days it would seem Microsoft has succeeded Kinect is no gimmick, its here to stay.
Rob Knapper
TOP 10 GAMES T Title: Starwars Kinect Developer: Terminal reality / LucasArts Platform: Xbox 360 (Kinect) Release date: December 2011
Title: Gears of war 3 Developer: Epic games Platform: Xbox 360 Release date: 13th April 2011
Title: Metal gear solid rising Developer: Konami Platform: 360, PS3 , Windows Release date: TBA!
Title: Street fighter vs Tekken Developer: Capcom Platform: 360, PS3 Release date: TBA!
Title: Crysis 2 Developer: Crytek Platform: 360, PS3, Windows Release date: 25th March 2011
TO LOOK OUT FOR IN 2011 Title: Uncharted 3, Drakes Deception Developer: Naughty Dog Platform: PS3 Release date: 4th November 2011
Title: Rage Developer: ID software Platform: 360, Mac OSX, PS3, Windows Release date: 15th September 2011
Title: Deadspace 2 Developer: Visceral games Platform: 360, PS3, Windows Release date: 25th January 2011
Title: Portal 2 Developer: Valve Platform: 360, Mac OSX, PS3, Windows Release date: 22nd April 2011
Title: Diablo 3 Developer: Blizzard Platform: Mac OSX, Windows Release date: rumored 4th quarter 2011
by Kirsty Cheney
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows ; Part 1 When I first read Harry Potter I didn’t expect it to get as big as it has, Author J.K Rowling is now one of the richest people on this planet and the Harry Potter books are now translated into lots of different languages making it a franchise now known all over the world. Yes, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is 607 page book, so the film has been split into two parts,some may have their doubts but avid book fans welcome the two part move with open arms,complaining that the earlier films lacked detail,also it gives us another Harry Potter film to look forward to in the coming year. We watch as Harry,Ron and Hermione try to find and destroy 7 horcruxes each bearing a piece of soul from their arch-nemesis,Lord Voldemort. His entourage of death-eaters and a muggle eating snake aid him in his quest to kill Harry Potter and finally take over the wizarding world making it true blood,and not muggle born “Mud-bloods” . David Yates who directed previous potters such as The Half Blood Prince and The Order of Phoenix, has done an amazing job in making the film darker and tense,as well as taking us on an emotional roller coaster as we see each of the three teenagers tackle a rather tricky love triangle. This is the first film in the franchise we are not taken to Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry, it is an exciting prospect as we get to see a lot of true personalities and real heroism from characters otherwise overlooked on in different Potters.Harry and friends spend alot of time in unsafe or unknown environments trying to hide from death-eaters, keeping the audience on the edge of their seat and anxious from beginning to end. Although the composer to the soundtrack has changed throughout the franchise,it has always been orchestrated by Conrad Pope, who - with the help of the London symphony Orchestra - achieves again in creating the perfect atmos, harmonies and exciting scores to accompany part 1 of the final showdown. As we have been taken out of Hogwarts,we see different sets,and locations become potterfied. Set designer Stuart Craig who has worked on all of the Potter films manages to make even a wedding described as “an eccentric extension on the weasleys burrow” elegant,sophisticated and magical. Harry Potter and the furore that surrounds it,brought piccadilly circus to a standstill, as they took two days and 400 extras to shoot a few scenes which made only a 5 minute appearance in the blockbuster. The other great thing about this Harry Potter is it is very close to home, If I ever do get to go to America I can boast that this latest Harry Potter was filmed near my home town,the forest of dean and we even see glimpses of the severn bridge, making this film easy to relate to. The great thing about Harry Potter is I have grown up with the story aswell as the cast, I started reading Harry potter from a young age and have been looking forward to a new film every year since, I can say one thing for certain it will be weird when Harry Potter ends, but it will be a series of films no-one can ever forget. Harry Potter is one of the greatest events ever achieved in film making,it will be sad to see it go, but on the other hand I cannot wait to add this dvd box set to my collection when it comes out sometime next winter.
Toy Story 3
After waiting more than ten years for the highly anticipated, Toy Story 3,children,adults and grandparents alike were not disappointed at Lee Unkerichs installment of this fun filled family film. During the final part of this saga,Pixar yet again make us laugh and cry as we watch the toys struggle to overcome more problems. After being mistakenly given to Sunny-side Daycare the gang are initially overjoyed at the prospect of being played with again but their enthusiasm is soon depleted when they find their stuck in a room with sticky toddlers by day and locked in cages by night at the hand of the ruling strawberry-scented teddy bear named ‘Lotso’. After finding out that Andy,who is now 17 and heading to college, is missing them and now looking for them,the toys begin to plan their mission back home,and escape the confinements of the daycare from hell. Will they fix Buzz and make it home back to Andy? When Toy Story first came out in 1995 ,it felt like a film made light-years ahead of its time,with its out of this world computer animation,editing,soundtrack,dialogue. It shows that they have thought about every minute detail,and to this day this format still amazes the audience at how lifelike the characters are. Also the camera techniques used really did capture the realistic movements of each character and this also helped make the film very believable. All of this combined with voices done by great actors such as Tom Hanks and Tim Allen made it no surprise that Toy Story 3 has now claimed the title of highest grossing animation film ever in the UK. Toy Story 3 sees timeless characters coming back to life, despite not seeing some of the essentials including Bo Peep and Etch-a-Sketch,Pixar manage to bring new unforgettable characters to the mix. We see a whirlwind romance between Barbie and her other half Ken, voiced by Michael Keaton, which instantly brings laughs to the whole cinema with his dream house and outfit collection. Although Toy Story 3 is quintessentially a simple plot, Pixar manage to use key elements of media to keep the audience engaged. We experience a scene with an old clown called Chuckles telling us of his cold,sorrowful story, non-diegetic sounds such as thrashing winds and thunderstorms are used to help the audience really empathize with the way Chuckles is feeling which is also a use of Pathetic Fallacy. Another scene towards the end takes place at a garbage dump,Cameras get close up shots of each of the toys faces which quickly creates tension and leaves the audience feeling anxious. For me, I really enjoyed this film, Sequels are always a worrying idea but Pixar rose to the challenge and made it look easy not only once,but twice,creating a successful trilogy. Also as I am an avid Toy Story fan I had high expectations for this film, but thankfully I left the cinema craving more from the Pixar team, as they have clearly created another masterpiece.