It's Booze Time

Over the weekend Revenge of the Psychotronic Man were in the studio to record 6 tracks for an international split that we will be releasing around April next year.

Tim G (Big Tone Recordings) had the pleasure of putting up with Revenge of... for two days, listening to the rough mixes it sounds like he did a great job.

If you have seen Revenge of... play over the last few months you would have heard most of the tracks recorded, although there are a couple that will be new to you. It might not sound believable but I think this EP is even faster than the album, 6 tracks are over and done with in under 7mins 25 secs. The track listing is:

1. Drinking in the Van

2. Not My Fight

3. It's Booze Time

4. A Political Hot Potato

5. D.I.Why?

6. The End of Everything

I think there must have been a worlds first at Big Tone this weekend: the gang vocals on 'The End of Everything' were recorded in human pyramid formation! Davey Psychotronic was up from the big smoke to record some video footage over the weekend so we should hopefully see that in the near future with some samples from the EP. We will also probably make 'A Political Hot Potato' available for a free download once Tim has finished with the mastering. So look out for that.

If you weren't already aware, these tracks are going to feature on an international split EP alongside 5feetunder Records from Denmark and Stikman Records from the US. It will also feature the Mighty Midgets (Denmark) , Fist of the North Star (USA) and the Broken Aris (Sweden).

Andy and Niels (Mighty Midgets) are working together on the artwork, which should produce something very interesting. Each of the bands/labels have a similar DIY ethics and we all feel it is a really good way of helping great bands be heard further a field. It's a real pleasure to be working with a group of like minded labels and bands.

"IT'S FUCKING BOOZE TIME"

WARNING: May Contain Cuts

Here is an article by Tom Houseman (Sense of Urgency/Rising Strike) that will feature in the next issue of the fanzine, which is due out next month. Enjoy.

WARNING: May Contain Cuts

After decades of spin doctors, broken promises, and bare-faced lies, it should at last be widely acknowledge that the lifeblood of British politics is misdirection. With that in mind, it is bizarre that we have taken at face value the coalition government’s zealous imposition of its cuts. “We all have to do our bit”, chant the slack-jawed public into the reporter’s microphone, as if repetition will suffice in the absence of thought or discussion. The more sophisticated version of this mantra is the claim that “I’m not happy about it, but public sector workers/students/the arts have to shoulder their share of the burden”. Underlying this claim is the ultimate misdirection: by assuming that the state (i.e. the taxpayer) should only pay for things that contribute to the economy, we’re making massively important statements about what society is and should be – and as long as these statements slip under the radar of public debate, austerity budgets will continue to go unopposed.

Education, like art, is not an investment. It should not be judged in terms of its expected financial return, as it has an intrinsic value not captured by its profitability. More importantly, education and art are completely disfigured when left to the brutal logic of cost and benefit. The students who, increasingly, make their university choices with only careers in mind will only learn what is useful for business, until academia is nothing more than the training of the account managers and sales executives of tomorrow. If art is only viable in spaces that attract the approval of private financiers, at best, it will only ever reflect the preferences, lives and experiences of the rich. At worst, it will go the way of all cultural commodities, becoming ever cheaper and more disposable. (In this way, acquiescing to the cuts is tantamount to making the X Factor the model for all creativity).

Lurking behind the increase in university fees and the various cuts to the arts, to education, to public services, and to benefits, is the awful inner logic of a society in which capitalism sets the terms of debate. The government is trying to abdicate our responsibility as a society to guarantee the integrity of things that would be destroyed or mutilated if left to the logic of the market. They are attempting to render all social life subservient to the open competition of narrowly-defined self-interest. As any sane person can recognise, such naked competition will only ever have one result: those with the necessary resources will acquire yet more, while those born with little will die with nothing.

Learning for learning’s sake, art for art’s sake, genuine democracy, and protection from extreme poverty, are not luxuries that can be restricted to those that can afford it when a nation finds itself strapped for cash. They are society itself. If we do not protect these fragile spaces from the overbearing logic of the market, they will wither and die, leaving us with nothing other than a new feudalism, where we serfs eke out an immiserated existence, paying tribute to the Lord-Bankers for little more than the right to keep working for them.

Beat The Red Light talk to TNS about recording their new album

Here is an interview with Beat The Red Light that will feature in the next paper copy of the Fanzine.

Beat the Red Light are one of the best live bands I have ever seen and it is an absolute pleasure to be releasing their brand new album on TNS. Here is what the guys had to say about the new CD.

TNS) Can you introduce yourselves please?

Pook) Pook - throat and trombone.

Tim) Tim, I play drums in Beat the Red Light.

G) This is G of the rhythm section, bass division.

TNS) What can we expect from the new album? What’s it called and how is it sounding? Can we expect an even bigger mix of sounds?

Tim) The new album is called Salt the Lands - This has taken so long to write that every song has a slightly different feel. I can’t contemplate how many favourite cds I have had since we started writing a couple of years ago. It sounds BIG!!
Pook) The new album is sounding to me like perfection! We’ve just recorded the majority of it, well Mike BEEF Lankaster (our guitarist) did. Don’t be fooled by the fact that one of our band members is recording it, it aint on an 8 track. We spent the last 9 days getting cabin fever in Ipswich getting PERFECT takes! No 99% takes were accepted. We know what each other are capable of and wanted perfection! It’s been the hardest 9 days but totally worth it. Expect long epic black metal, grind, thrash and ska played in an epic way!
G) It’s coming along quite nicely, there’s horns, shredding and songs about zombies. It sounds like BTRL but just stepped up a notch.

TNS) Is there any particular theme to the lyrical content?

Pook) No theme, just different topics. The lyrics are quite a lot darker. I’ve recently just came out of a very dark place. I’d just split up with my girlfriend of four years, I was working twelve hours a day and still not earning enough to pay the bills, let alone rent. I went a bit of the rails. I kinda got myself stuck in this mental hole, but I’ve scramble out of it now. Some of the lyrics are about all that stuff.
Ones called ‘One Love Hypocrite’ and it’s a direct look at the homophobia in dancehall. I love Sizzla, Capelton and Buju Banton, but the homophobic lyrics have to go. Then there’s ‘Solanum’ which is a zombie survival guide, and the black metal song ‘Salt the Lands’ is about going on a killing spree, oh and sacrificing virgins! Then there’s ‘Bleeding Nose’.

Tim) No idea mate, have you tried understanding what Pook screams?
G) We might be into prog but we are not a prog band!(yet) This is not a concept album!!!

TNS) How was the writing and recording process?

Pook) Long!!!! We’ve been playing ‘Bleeding Nose’ since our first tour so it’s been years we’ve been writing this album! The recording has been the longest nine days of my life! Not accepting anything less than 100% perfect takes! Like I said earlier though, the hard works paying off!
Tim) Very weird and, for me, very disjointed. Writing has taken for ever, since writing ‘Bleeding Nose’ we have had a member change, stolen one of our trumpet players back from Chilli and the guitarists have moved from two hours away to two minutes. To be honest it is only in the last 6 months that we have really got into our groove. The recording process has been even more strange, the studio that we were booked into for three months backed out on us with 24 hours notice - we all have full time jobs so couldn’t move the holiday so we HAD to find somewhere to do it (massive thanks to everyone who made suggestions). For me this meant that I was only there for 3 days and then had to go back to the ‘shire’ to carry on working. I am sure everyone can imagine how gutting it is being so far out of the loop.

G) Like all the Vietnam war films ever made, all rolled into one! The Horror.....the horror!!!

TNS) Your ep was very well received and the live show’s have been unbelievable. Did you feel this album had a lot to live up too?

Pook) Not really, It just feels like a natural progression for me to push the boundaries. See how much heavier we can take it. We recently just played a set of just new songs and everyone seemed to enjoy them, I mean I’m totally stoked with the response to the e.p but to me that was just a really good demo knocked up in three days. We’re taking our time on this one and we haven’t got a producer who doesn’t know what we’re capable of so doesn’t push us for better takes! You want the job done properly, ya gotta do it yourself!
G) Most definitely, that’s why everyone has been pushing each other so hard in the studio, hence the Vietnam comments. The E.P. Was made whilst the band was still in a line up transition. ‘Salt the Lands’ benefits from the more settled line up. I’m right proper stoked with it. I really hope people dig it. The new stuff seems to be going down well live so I’m gagging to tour the album too. Next year is gonna be a messy one me finx!
Tim) To be honest, the band has changed so much since the EP that it would be a shame to try and compare the two. So yes, I think that this record will be a much better reflection of what our live performance is like than the EP. This is a snapshot of what has happened in the last couple of years, I’m really looking forward to carrying on the momentum

TNS) How do you find your mix of styles affects your audience? Do you think this will appeal to metal and ska fans equally?

Tim) For me it all depends on what mind set you are in when you listen to it. Hopefully people will like the heavy as much as the subtle and get what we were going for. With any luck it will be as interesting to everyone as it is to us.
G) Well, you can’t please all the people all the time can ya? We do what we do, that’s that. People either like it or they don’t.
Pook) Yeah, the e.p was I’d say more for the ska/punk fans, this one is definitely more for the metal fans! There’s only one songs on this album which doesn’t have a drop of ska in it. One ska part on the album is done in 5/8? Try and skank to that!

TNS) What have you got lined up to promote it in 2011?
Pook) Well we hit europe with the killer Stand Out Riot! That’s gonna rule and we also plan to do a tour with the Junk, can’t bloody wait!
Tim) TOUR!!!! I can’t fucking wait. It’s been over a year since we last toured and it has felt like forever. It is not that we haven’t wanted to, it just hasn’t been possible. If you have seen us before, imagine what we’re gonna be like coming out of a year long drought!!!
G) Tours, a sex tape and a giant inflatable bus stop cock which we intend to fly to London and attach to the 02 arena, thus using the old millennium dome as a scrotum.


Salt the Lands is out in February on TNS.

TNSrecords from the latest ASFAR

Here are some reviews of TNSrecords releases from the latest copy of A Short Fanzine About Rocking. Make sure you pick up a copy, it is well worth a read.

Bootscraper - Country and Eastern
Leeds based self proclaimed agro-folk band Bootscraper are a welcome suprise, as it's always nice to come across a very good band that you've never heard of before and it's even better when it's not your average punk release. To the truth is it would be hard to lump this into any genre. There are signs of a lot of influence - 'There Will be Blood' sounds like a Gogal Bordello b side while 'The Sundown Kid' has a similar vibe to the mad caddies flirt with their country edge. The variety of instruments as well as the interchange between the two vocalists makes for interesting, layered music which does not get boring, while the mix between the faster folk songs and the slower country/bluegrass songs helps add diversity. Despite the range of genres on display it does become apparant half way through that this will not appeal to everybody. Tracks like 'The Ol' Waterin' Hole' could easily be too much for people who aren't fans of the gypsy and dare I say it, pirate theme. That said, Bootscraper do well in not relying on gimmicks even with the obvious temptation. I'd bet a fair amount of money that they can really pull it off live, but there's certainly a lot to enjoy on CD too.
A Short Fanzine About Rocking

The Dangerous Aces - Deny All Resonsibility
Well someones got to take responsibility for this. These street punks from manchester have served up a pretty awful 10 tracks of lo-fi punk here. Definitely more old than new school punk inspired, but that can't be used as an excuse for an album that sounds like it's been recorded on a digital camera. If I listen closely there is some decent bass work in most of the tracks and some pretty crazy guitar solos, but overall it sounds messy and singer Moz isn't the most talented vocalist to say the least. I guess a few of the oi crew may like this, but for anyone else, avoid.
A Short Fanzine About Rocking

Faintest Idea - Ignorance is This
Straight up punk here with a bit of horns and ska. When they get going Faintest Idea are pretty good, but personally, there's clearly a difference in quality between the two parts of their sound withthe punk tracks being hard hitting and in your face and the ska tracks coming across a bit cheesey. Luckily there's more of the former and where Faintest Idea will never win prizes for originality this is a decent album for fans of Rancid and the UK ska scene.
A Short Fanzine About Rocking

The Kirkz - Agroculture
There is a running joke between a couple of friends of mine about the Kirkz and how they are a god awful live band. Personally I can't be certain, I may have seen them on one or two occasions but they've never made an impression which I guess is a bad thing. That said, this isn't a bad album. It's samey all the way through but it's mostly fun and gives you plenty of chances to sing a long to the shouty choruses, indeed the first 3 tracks are literally the best here and would have benefitted from being spread out more. Everything here is at least worth a listen if you like rough round the edges underground UK punk.
A Short Fanzine About Rocking

What the fuck are Battle of the Bands all about?

I thought that it would be a good idea to have an online record of Andy's article on Battle of the Bands from issue 6 of the fanzine. So here it is, to re-read or check out for the first time. If you're interested all the back issues (TNSrecords issues not the That's Not Skanking ones) are available as pdfs on our website.

What the fuck are Battle of the Bands all about?

I’ve been meaning to rant about this for a while, but only just got round to it. What is the point of a music competition? When I go to a gig (or play a gig for that matter) I want every single band to be mint. I want to come away thinking I’ve seen some great music. The last thing I want to do is to sit through bands hoping they are shit so mine/my friends band can win a HMV voucher or something. I cannot understand how anyone genuinely into music would want to put one of these things on. If you want a competition go to watch some sport, or if it must be music related go and vote on Pop Idol or the Eurovision song contest.

That is what a battle of the bands is really, a low budget version of that sort of mainstream shite.

To be fair I know bands who have got to do some great things because of competitions, such as quality gigs or studio time, but the way I see it, they shouldn’t have to enter a competition to be noticed and it is a sad state of affairs that bands do need to. If someone from the music industry likes a band, why not just help them rather then asking them to compete in a competition?

(There is a simple answer to that; people from the music industry are money grabbing wankers)

The thing about most battle of the bands is that they are nothing more than a glorified popularity contest to make a venue/promoter a bit of money. Nearly every one of these competitions results in the band who sells the most tickets winning the prize and even if it’s not totally judged by ticket sales it’s normally in the criteria somewhere. Just because a band has a lot of friends, doesn’t mean they are good. Also, the judges more often than not are influenced by their own personal taste. How many people can honestly say a band from a particular genre is better than one from another? It’s nearly always about opinion. Obviously some peoples opinions are more informed than others, but they are at the end of the day still opinions.

Anyway, I needed to get that off my chest. If you are in a band and you want to enter competitions, that’s your choice so I wish you well, but personally I think music is much better without a competitive element and that a community where bands support each other is much more enjoyable.

Revenge of... music video

Revenge of the Psychotronic Man are filming a music video at Kro Bar in Manchester on the 19th November. Please bring animal masks and come prepared to be very silly!

Penis Goes Where? and The Dangerous Aces are also playing. More info can be found on facebook here: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=170482776311030

Please spread the word and bring everyone you know down.

Mainstream Football Is Shit!

Here is an article that Andy has written for the next issue of the TNSrecords Fanzine, which should be out in a couple of months. Enjoy.

As you may have read in previous issues of TNS, I love my football. Not quite as much as I love my punk rock, but I do love the beautiful game. But, as with many people, the nature of football these days really doesn’t sit well with me morally or socially. The capitalist nature of the greed driven, over commercial modern game surely cannot sit comfortably with the ethics of any punk fan? Football surely goes against everything we stand for in our music community yet for football we somehow seem to be able to turn a blind eye to it all.

The punk rock community prides itself on being self sufficient and trying to exist outside of the imposed systems and rules that capitalism gives us. We put on our own gigs, release our own records and fanzines and we have a community that reaches around the world. And what’s more, the vast majority of this is done on a not-for-profit basis. It’s an amazing thing. The community spirit and camaraderie associated with football really reminds me of what I experience at punk rock gigs; a feeling of unity and of friendship and of enjoying something exciting as a community.

But personally I can no longer feel this way about football. I can’t watch all the greed and lack of loyalty without cringing. I can’t watch people with no real interest in football taking over teams and running them into the ground, but I also hate the thought of people throwing money at their new play thing and demanding instant success. The modern game has no integrity and nothing to make someone with socialist values warm to it. I stopped paying to go to big games many years ago. I don’t want to put money in the pockets of these people. Of course boycotting games is only half the problem solved. The TV companies are just as bad, as are the newspapers.

However, here lies my problem; I miss it all. I want to support football, I want to go to games and I want to enjoy it again without feeling guilty. I like football.

So what are the options?

I’ll come to that shortly, but here is a little bit about my personal association with football to set the scene. I grew up in Stafford with neither of my parents really having an interest in the game. With no immediately obvious local team to follow, as an 8 year old just getting into the game, I (like many kids in my area) was always gonna go with Liverpool or Manchester United as my team. For me, influenced by a family member my particular choice of red ended up being that of Liverpool.
Obviously I went to games here and there but as with so many football fans once my team was decided my loyalty was hammered into me and remained even though I couldn’t really justify why.

When I reached about 14 years of age I started to go and watch my local team; the mighty Stafford Rangers. This presented a whole new experience to me. Going to regular games with school friends made me really appreciate why it was important to follow your home team even when they were a bit shit (I still today check for the Rangers scores). However, when I went to uni it became a choice between going to punk gigs or going to the football as I didn’t have too much money and I went to less and less games, but continued to watch Liverpool on TV because it was easy to do so. I also played Sunday League for many years so although I hardly went to games, football was still a big part of my life.

I relocated to Manchester about 10 years ago and have been here ever since. My allegiance to Liverpool remained throughout, but I only went every now and again and a few years ago decided that I didn’t want to spend any more of my cash on football as I was completely disheartened by the way it was going, but also because none of my friends supported them these days... I mean I was in Manchester... why would they? It all just took the fun out of it.

However, football is something that is ingrained into anyone who has ever been a fan. You can’t forget about it and obviously I have watched from a distance how it has deteriorated further and witnessed the destructive ways of the likes of the Glazers and of Hicks and Gillette. I realised the only way back for Liverpool was huge irresponsible injections of cash and just don’t like the idea. And although I check Stafford Rangers results I don’t see Stafford as home any more. Also would the Rangers really be any different with a bit of cash behind them? I really don’t know?

What I have written here became a regular pub discussion for myself and my immediate group of friends (3 of which had also relocated from the Midlands at a similar time - Villa, Stoke and Wolves fans) and a couple of disheartened United fans.We began to chat about Hamburgs St Pauli - a team widely respected by the punk rock community for their ethics. Their left leaning policies include not being owned by one particular owner giving power to the fans, anti racism/homophobia/sexism campaigns and a general anti capitalist agenda - it was punk rock football.

“Why can’t we have a team like this?” asked Bev, a Villa fan. Then I said the unthinkable (especially considering I am a Liverpool fan), “We have... FC United.”

FC United of Manchester is a community football club owned and democratically run by its members. They seek to change the way that football is owned and run, putting supporters at the heart of everything and to show how this can work in practice by creating something both sustainable and successful. Here are the clubs core principles taken from their site (fc-utd.co.uk):

1. The Board will be democratically elected by its members.
2. Decisions taken by the membership will be decided on a one member, one vote basis.
3. The club will develop strong links with the local community and strive to be accessible to all, discriminating against none.
4. The club will endeavour to make admission prices as affordable as possible, to as wide a constituency as possible.
5. The club will encourage young, local participation - playing and supporting - whenever possible.
6. The Board will strive wherever possible to avoid outright commercialism.
7. The club will remain a non-profit organisation.

FC United was formed in 2005 by Manchester United fans in protest to football being taken away from the fans through commercialisation, with the Glazer families leveraged buy-out being the final straw.

As a Liverpool fan, I do not like Manchester United. I don’t want them to win anything, but that said, I still wouldn’t wish the Glazers on anyone and their troubles were disappointing to see as it epitomised everything I believe to be wrong with the game and it was a shame to see a club with a proud history (like Liverpool) going this way.

But apart from the association with Manchester United, FC United seemed to be everything we were looking for: an ethical, anti-capitalist, not-for-profit football club, done for all the right reasons on our doorstep. Also, as a group of friends, this could be great; a local team who we could go and watch together. After 10 years in Manchester here was a team we could cheer on collectively, who also fitted in with our moral ideas.

So last week we went for the first time and it was fantastic. I wondered how difficult it would be for someone who is quite a loyal person to support a new team, but I was soon won over. It was great to be at a game again, especially with my mates and I enjoyed the style of football too. People talk about the difference in standard from the top leagues, but I grew up with non-league football so I can definitely assure people that FC play some good stuff!

I don’t expect us all to be fully fledged FC supporters immediately but I guess that’s part of the fun. I can’t disregard Liverpool just yet, but I definitely want to be at many more FC games.
I was worried about how FC fans would take to non-United fans coming (especially Liverpool fans) but chats in the pub after the game suggested that it shouldn’t be too much of a problem. Despite our different starting points with football the people I chatted with shared common ground with regards to the state of the game. Most FC fans we spoke to saw FC as an individual club, which was what we wanted.

This is also my local team now. We’re all in Manchester for the long haul and I for one want my kids (should I have any) growing up watching a club with the moral message and standing of FC.

We shall see how it all goes, and at this point it’s too early to guarantee we’ll all become fanatical supporters (although I can see it happening) but for now I’m just excited about the ride. It’s great to be watching a relatively new club from early days. Personally I’d love FC to shake off any association to United and to be supported as a club in their own right, because that’s what FC deserves. Getting their own stadium could help this to happen and you can read more about their community shares scheme on their site.

Can FC and other such teams (AFC Wimbledon are now in the Conference) cause a football revolution? It will be hard to change the habits of footballs elite, that’s for sure, but what they are doing certainly needs backing by any football fans who share their principles. I for one am inspired by the fan power that has lead to this clubs existence.It could, just maybe be the start of a football revolution, but for now it’s certainly punk rock football! Come on the reds!

Andy

This article was written two weeks prior to the unbelievable FA Cup result away at Rochdale, which was one of the best matches I have ever been too. Fantastic atmospere and the sort of drama that makes football so amazing. I’ve been to a few games since writing this and I am loving it!