We all sucked once upon a time

I've made a new best internet friend recently. The last time I had so much in common with a person I had never met before it was Steve and now we run a business together so I always think of it as a good thing. We both love live music a goddamn hell of a lot and are striving to build up, with what little resources we have available to us, a live music scene which is open and available to all of those people who always wanted to be on a sweaty stage in front of a bunch of drunks and burst their eardrums but never could. It's a really difficult thing to do though. It shouldn't be. So I'll share a little embarrassment on myself and along the way hopefully inspire even just one person who is on the fence about starting a new band.

We all sucked once. There was a time too many years ago when all I wanted to do was play in a band that was just like mxpx. The problem was I didn't really know how to write songs, how to play the guitar properly, what was involved in recording songs, how to go about getting shows or what to do on a stage. That meant that I sucked at being a musician, but guess what, I didn't give a shit because every Saturday me and three friends would cram into our 15 year old drummers shed at his house and play our crappy songs and most of Life In General and we had the best time. As far as we were concerned we were a band, even though we sounded like this:

Yep that's pretty bad. But we were playing music and fucking around with all our friends and that's what mattered to us. I really didn't know about how to get gigs and we only played a few actual shows supporting another friends band and I wish to high heaven that we could have done more but we didn't know any promoters putting on shows around town - or even what a promoter was - and we had no real outlet that we were aware of.

cut to 7 years later and the quality of bands I was playing in got a lot better. mostly due to me getting better (see my previous post on that) and being able to interact with more talented musicians. This was not an overnight thing. I was passionate about music for several years and it took me a long time to learn the ropes. I have been through several bands with several differing levels of motivation and have scores of EPs to show for it but still I have never had a promoter actively look to put on upcoming talent, even though the songs I was playing went from crappy to more like this:



Well now people are offering that opportunity. 13 Stitches and Ipswich Punk Shows are giving that opportunity to bands that was like gold dust and still is in most instances. If you aren't sure of how to transition from playing in a shed with your mates to playing an honest to goodness show with established bands then this is where you need to be. For the first time since I started handing demos into venues there are promoters in the world who will take a brand new bands hand and walk them through the process, giving the best advice they can think to give along the way. There is a network of established and up and coming bands all willing to have a new band take up a support slot and gain experience in all sizes of venue. It's there for the taking and if you enjoy playing the music you love then it's your best opportunity to get out there and do it.

Some bands may be scared from hearing stories about the Mondo culture and pay for play shows and you should be because that sort of nonsense is rampant and preys on brand new acts. But there are promotions companies out there that will actively fight against this and teach you what to look for in the process. They are only an instant message away and they are totally on your side.

So record yourselves on your phone at a practice. Get a mate to take a few photos of you and make yourself a Facebook page. Get a Soundcloud account and putting your crappy demos on there. You can worry about improving things and having better quality everything once you're out there and getting things done. Believe me when I say there's nothing better than having people stand and appreciate your music. Everything else is secondary.

Why punks make the greatest parents

Although a lot of my music is very specifically about being a father I don't think I've ever done much more than mention Summer in passing in this blog, but as I've been a punk rock dad in a band for a while now and since many of my friends of a similar age are or are becoming punk rock parents themselves I thought I'd reflect a little on my attitude towards Summer and why I think it is that I, like the other parents I know, am so devoted to my child.

This whole thing is based on my own life experiences and of course is purely opinionated but I think it will ring true for the many of us that joined the Parent 'Hood.. Of course if you wildly disagree then that's fine, why not put your opinions in the comments and we can have a chat about it, but for the sake of writing something here's my two cents:

So I want to start with my own childhood. As is the case with many of my friends I grew up in a slightly dysfunctional family. I never knew my dad. He didn't die, he just didn't give a shit and didn't want to be a dad and had no interest in being a part of his sons life. My mum did, and continues to do the most she possibly can for me but that meant working as hard as she possibly could in order to give us both a reasonable life and that left me without family around the majority of the time. I've always preferred alternative music, initially getting myself into Metallica and Motorhead and anything fast and heavy. When I found Punk in the form of The Offspring, Blink 182, Mxpx and The Ataris (amongst others) I felt I had found my home. Every second of my life since then, no matter how much it spiraled out of control had this one constant. Punk. Tim Armstrong and Mike Herrera became the father figures I never had for long enough growing up and I turned to those people standing on a stage singing of real life to find my path and on occasion put myself back together. Eventually becoming the proper human being I am today.

I am in equal measures completely indifferent and impassioned by the fact I had no father growing up. I don't

blame him for any of the multitude of mistakes I've made and would rather have one parent who loves me with all their heart than have a matching pair and one of them be a tool. Then again if I had the father we all as children deserve then maybe I wouldn't have crept so close to the edge of death and insanity before I found a way to fix myself. Shouldn't all kids have a guiding patriarch that will bring them back to redemption when they've strayed too far down a dark path? I think so yeah, because I have romanticized the idea of what it truly means to be a good father in my head over the 30 odd years I haven't had one.

So anyway enough about me, what about punk rock parents? Well my point is that I know a lot of people in the punk community may not share my dysfunction story but they sure can relate to it or have another story of a troubled or broken home that would fit as easily into this story. The one thing we all have in common is that we never want to be that broken link in the chain, because we've felt the pain that it causes and though we find solace in those who have had similar experiences we would never willingly wish that on anyone. Especially when that person is born of our own DNA! We that have lived through difficult emotional turmoil or worse and are compelled not to let that happen to the offspring we so dearly love. Their circumstance will not be our own and whether we can bestow riches and fortune or not we will always provide love and care and nurturing to the utter limit of our abilities.


To me this means being as hands on as I possibly can, I will answer every question and attend any and all child social functions that are demanded of me. It has meant that I have been able to bath, change, feed and generally care for my daughter since day one. It means I keep another private blog that I write to her in the future so that she will know when she is older that I have always loved her with all my heart. All the parents I know are similarly devoted in their own way and it's my hope that we all raise a generation of humans who have known love all their lives and become excellent people in return. 

I'm not saying broken homes are exclusive to punk and I'm not saying that every punk is a fantastic parent, but what I am saying is that we will always do everything in our power to mitigate the pain of our formative years.

5 things they dont tell you about being a front-man

I was the lead singer, and later lead singer/rhythm guitarist of a punk covers band called The Valves. I was in the band for roughly four years until we separated due to band members leaving the country and in that time I went from a cocky kid with a bit of talent to a functioning, engaging front-man. I was not born excellent (although I was pretty close to be fair) and there were certain hard lessons I had to learn. These I learnt through jeers and shitty feedback and the odd damning conversation with bandmates who did not want my actions to ruin the reasonably large amount of money we pulled in for playing to loud drunk people for 2 hours a go. It is my wish to impart this knowledge in written form so as to benefit all humanity and those few who may nor may not care what it takes to hold a stage.

1. You suck dick under the influence

original article

It's the rock and roll mantra that you need to be twatted when you're on stage. The coolest, greatest most legendary players/singers of all time were totally off the planet when they played. Right? No. The fact is that the legends were legends first and could then be forgiven for being fucked a couple of times until people got sick of them puking on stage and forgetting what was happening. Jimmy Hendrix was awful once the acid kicked in and people eventually just went to see him smash another guitar because it wouldn't make the correct noises. Shane McGowan gets towed off stage at pogues concerts and replaced because he can't stand up and no body gives two shits that Shane isn't singing anymore. You may find that alcohol or your good times of choice help you write great music but when you're standing on stage slurring into the mike and forgetting what song you're playing it gets old real quick.

2. You need the rhythm

If you are a lead singer then chances are the majority of the eyes in the room are on you. Sure there's the odd muso checking out the guitarist, and other bass players and drummers maybe checking out their respective counterparts but for those people who don't really care about music you are the centre of attention. That means that the flow and vision of the song needs to be found in the way you move and act on stage. You need to know the momentum of every song and your actions need to convey that to an audience. Simple things like punching the beats or a jump to denote a breakdown/double time event are like an orchestral conductors motions to the people you hope are dancing in front of you. If they can't follow the music then you aren't doing enough to spell it out to them. your third ear should always be with the bass and drums and you should be a conduit for them to let people know what's happening. Standing stock still or being out of time will confuse the people staring at you and they will disengage from all the hard work you and your bandmates have gone through to hold their attention.

3. You need to know what you're saying

Original source

A lot of people seem to think brilliance will spill out their mouth in between songs, or that because they are so awesome at doing the vocal bit in songs that they don't really need to care about the stuff outside of songs. That isn't how the audience see it though. They have come to be entertained for the full thirty/fourty five minutes/two hours you are up on that stage and that means every second that you're stood there not engaging them is a second they don't care about you being there. Some bands will default to another member talking instead of the singer which is totally fine as long as one person is keeping everyones attention, but on the whole that will fall to the front-man. We are not the cream of stand up comedians, we cannot all perfectly read a situation and come out with something funny or astute or deep. Instead preparing what you are going to talk about beforehand is the simple, obvious and most effective solution. Depending on how bad you are with public speaking (and to be fair if the answer is "horrific" then you may want to rethink being the central focus of a band) then you can spend time a few days before going over relevant things to say that will flow well between the songs you are performing. You need to consider the style of your band, the political and/or religious stances you collectively wish to portray as a band and also take into account the likely reactions of the audience to your statements. It's best to work these out along with your band as they can let you know how long it will take to prep for the next song (tuning etc) and also arrange to take a turn at the mic if you yourself need to prepare/take a drink. For audience members who have never seen your band before they will likely remember the words you choose between songs far better than any lyric you utter.

4. You need to cultivate your image

Did you get dressed in the dark before coming on stage? Do you want people to think you got dressed in the dark before coming on stage? Exactly what snap judgement do you want people to make of you based on the t shirt you're wearing? Are you mirroring the people that are watching you?  These questions and more are honestly important ones when you are asking a group of people who haven't met you before to like and associate with you and your bandmates. The tshirt (or other top/no top) you choose alone will convey a thousand messages to the people watching. If you happen to endorse a band or label that they too think of as something linked to their own personality then you instantly have 80% of a fan. If the way you look is the same as the people in the crowd then you are letting people know that you are part of the scene that they have chosen. All of this may sound shallow and superficial - and it is - but expecting a stranger to take the time to get to know you and your stance on life and the messages you wish your band to convey is selfish and egotistical.  If you only have half an hour of distorted noise to show the audience who you are why not put the effort into giving them as many visual clues beforehand as possible. The quicker someone decides they like you the quicker they can start appreciating your music.

5. You are not the band, but you are their monkey

Original source

God I love the gig nutter. That one guy who was in a band/roadied/babysat Sid Vicious who now spends his time hanging out proving to people that he is indeed the drunkest person in the bar. He(she) probably fell over your monitor or into your mic stand and likely spilled beer on something expensive. Well guess what it that guy/girl wants to be your bestest friend in the whole world and as the front-man it is your job to be that friend/son to them. The guitarist and bassist will be busy talking to real musicians and the drummer will be busy with merch and the promoter so that leaves you as the spokes person to all the very drunk people who want a signed copy of the album they just bought. They will have advice for you and tales a plenty and your reputation as a band all rests on your reaction to them. If they find your endearing then you will have one of the staunchest supporters of your band around, if you piss them off or act like a douche then you may as well forget playing that venue again because your name will be shit to all within that guys exceedingly loud vocal range. Remember that to others you are the poster boy for why people should give a shit about your band over every other million bands out there and it's your job post show to persuade people to your cause. I can't tell you the amount of times I'd had the same goddamned conversation about what a 20 something kid was doing playing punk music with a bunch of 40 something original punkers but by the end of every conversation I was slapped on the back given all the anecdotes and demanded to return as soon as possible. 

p.s. A couple of pre-emptive apologies here: 

- I realise I have written this article mainly in the masculine but that's because I'm talking from specific examples in my own experience. Please feel free to swap the word front-man with whichever gender neutral term who wish.

- I make a few casual joke about drummers and bass players in this article. I would like to assure you that I am not prejudiced towards bass players and drummers and fully appreciate them as the foundations of any group without whom everything would sound terrible.

- Whenever I have made light of the weight lead persons within a band hold I am speaking of my experience as someone who auditioned to join a group where my only creative input to start with was to stand on stage and sing. If you write the music and lyrics and the band was yours to start with of course all these things make your role within the group more important, but no less replaceable.

More Awesome than your mums macaroni cheese!

A lot of people think I have really narrow taste in music, and to be fair if you look through my music library it's about 95% blisteringly fast punk rock. But that doesn't mean I hate other music and it certainly doesn't mean that I can't be totally blown away seeing one of the most unique and totally off the scale shows I've seen outside of that narrow genre.

I'm talking about Eat The Evidence, who I saw (for free no less) take the roof off Bar Solo in Camden last night. It's easy for me to be biased about them, most of them have been friends of mine for well over 10 years and drummer Mike also plays in The Apostates, whom I also like a hell of a lot and he records my EPs. But I'll try to remain as objective as possible for the sake of hopefully making sure you all take notice of them as your eardums deserve.

I say totally unique because I've yet to hear an  accordion  driven, streets inspired, ska/two tone/heavy rock/reggae band in my life. That may sound like an odd and bitter mix if you're trying to imagine it from nothing but trust me when I say it works. I remember when rum lemonade and pineapple juice sounded disgusting by I sure showed someone that time when there was nothing left at 8am after a house party the night before!!

Everything works so well because each and every member of the band is a veteran of at least a decade of bands. that's around 50 years gigging experience between them all and it comes across in spades when they play. Frontman Tom is as  charismatic, charming and energetic as any lead could possibly hope to be. Wrapping a packed room of people round his little finger all whilst firing off lyrics which swing from politically volatile to toilet humour at breakneck speeds whilst swinging from the rafters. Never missing a beat in between. He is backed up by, and shares vocal  contributions from a set of musicians who with every note let you know that they are as talented as they come with nary a shred of ego about it. The music is deep and multi layered and you would have to spend a week with each song to pick up on every clever lick and nuance. Jack, Toms brother in particular is more talented than I have ever seen and the chemistry between the two brothers sparks and sells their set even more.

I find it a crying shame that they aren't massive and bigger than any middle of the road shite that might win a Brit award or have a video on MTV Rocks. I hope they blow up soon because I feel that it's not fair that only the room full people packed in to see them get to hear them and not the rest of the world.

It was the best of times.... that is all

Goddamnit! So where do I begin to start? Well let's start with expectations. Anyone who read the write up of the last show will know I was kind of a fan of the original More Of This! Fest punk rock all dayer which was back in the distant pasts of November last year. Having a huge of selection of great bands was one part of what made the day so amazing. But the thing that really got me in the heart strings was the community that was created. I made new friends that i genuinely liked and still keep in contact with and we all had so much fun over the course of 12 awesome hours of punk rock that coming into this day I was just a little worried that it wouldn't be the same. The sense that some intangible element would be missing from the day that I could only think of as the magic glue that held it all together.

Of course I was entirely unjustified in my concerns it seems. More Of This! II was in my opinion one of the greatest days I've had, barring the birth of my child and my wedding day. Not only were all of the elements

that made the first day present but they seemed amplified, more potent and just as exhilarating. From meeting more new friends to listening to such impossibly high quality music I was almost brought to tears, this took what was an incredible one off event and turned it into a real culture, a movement. A chance for those sick of their home town scenes to say "IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE THIS WAY". For people used to being outcasts to find a place where belonging isn't just a chance occurrence, but the motto on the door. This is Thirteen Stitches, this is our vision, this is what we wanted our whole lives and collectively we made it happen. A lot of love went out to 13SX godfather Steve Todd on the day and all of it was heartfelt and entirely warranted, as he managed to organise yet another blinder of a day. But equal amounts of praise can be bestowed on all who attended, because it takes all of us to make this so special and by the nine we did make it special. Here's to our little revolution, the one where we allow anyone and say if you're a good person then you're alright by me.

Anyways, onwards, lets talk about bands since we have some time to kill, I'll go along chronologically, so it's easier to find a particular act if you don't want to listen to my waffle. As before I unfortunately had to go and eat at some point in the day so I only caught the last chorus of Chapter Eleven, but I know Asher is the nuts and would have been as awesome as last time.

Sam Moloney

What do you do when your band decides it doesn't want to go on tour? Do you sit in a corner and cry about it or do you say screw that, grab your guitar and go play by yourself because you love what you do just that fucking much. If you're Sam Moloney you opt for the latter and give a beautiful opening to the day. There may have only been other acts in the New Cross Inn at half twelve but all of us in attendance love every second of Sams set. Playing Mixtapes Saints songs by himself you couldn't tell that there should've been a whole extra band behind the songs, Sams melodic style and slightly haunting vocals had us all bowled over in a way that probably wouldn't have happened with a full backline.

Luke Godwin

I'm not going to lie. I google stalked Luke for a few weeks before the show and slightly fell in love with his

album. A fully produced effort with Luke on everything it meant that I had some pretty high expectations and maybe just a tiny guy crush. I wasn't let down for a second either as even though he was on the point of exhaustion (mostly through constant outbursts of awesomeness) he delivered an incredible set on his own with nothing but an acoustic guitar. Luke has a beautiful voice and can do that thing I've seen somewhere where he can actually play his guitar really well and and top of that writes catchy tunes that get the words red wine stuck in you head for a week after!

Red Rag Front

It's a shitty thing when you are about to go on stage and the preceeding act was phenominal. I was suddenly wracked with self doubts and loathing and didn't think anything was good enough anymore. On top of that this was the first show I've played without Drew doing all the good bits for 9 months and the carefully rehearsed set I had handily stored in my head went right out the window. Despite all that I think the set went well enough, I especially enjoyed playing a Demon Smiles cover which is now the best number in my set. Afterwards I was told I reminded a few people of a young Brendan Kelly which is the absolute highest praise I have received in my adult life. So I'll chalk this up as a win.

The Real Quaid

Terrible. Awful in every sense!! Not only did they attempt to shatter my delicate eardrums with melodic pop punk at three in the afternoon, they sung about vulgar topics such masturbation!! Not content with a single voice ruining my earl grey quiet time they had quintuple booming gang harmonies assaulting me and left me with hooks that to this very moment wont leave my head!! There were screaming solos and hardcore songs and not one song with contrived lyrics about some romantic thing. I suppose if you love that sort of thing you
could have said that they were exceptional and that they were one of your new favourite bands. I guess.

East End Riot

East End Riot look awesome. East End Riot sound awesome. East End Riot can be found next to the dictionary definition of awesome! They are a band that wears their influences on their sleeves (tattoo sleeves, awesome tattoo sleeves) but when those influences are Hellcat esque hardcore and Lars Frederkison and the Bastards you can hardly go wrong. The guys had a lot of variety to offer despite hardcore/oi/old school crossovers often sounding samey after a while. Choked with super cool charm, irony and all of the punk rock not-giving-a-fucking-shitingness you'd expect from a band with hellcat inspirations/aspirations they kicked all of the asses despite it being early enough in the day for it to not to be silly wearing sunglasses inside!

On A Hiding To Nothing

On a Hiding to Nothing were my favourite act of the day, despite the fact that I thought the same

thing about every other act as they came on. It's so hard to say that because I don't want to take away from just how incredible the other bands that I could also easily say were my favourite were, but if someone put a gun to my head and said "Dan, judging on your taste in music, who was the best of the day" I would be siding with these guys. They are everything I like in a band musically and they were tight as shit and everything sounded crisp and perfect and apparently the lead singer was ill but now I'm worried about seeing them on a good day because it might make my head explode!! Jack Wiseman (no relation to Demon Smiles Joe - I think) also gets the award for absolute most charismatic person on the stage all day and possibly for ever.

DROP THIS

Damn. I already used my "favourite" badge up. Well also in that category were Drop This. If you had to ask them what music genre they want to be pigeonholed into they would probably say up yours and kick you in the nuts till they turned purple. After that they might say 90's So Cal, Fat Wreck hardcore. That's the type that is Blisteringly fast, melodic and better than all other hardcore ever invented. I literally loved every second they played and could've just watched them play for the rest of the day. If these guys are new to you and you haven't seen them then your world is just a little darker than mine.

The Holiday Plan

It's a dangerous thing eating cheap food before playing a show because you never know when that crap is going to repeat on you. However if you're lucky or excellent or both then you will still be able to crank out massive tunes and bust gorgeous harmonies and keep everything sounding sweet like bosses. This I learnt from The Holiday Plan who may well have had a run it with Weatherspoons crap but didn't let that interfere with bringing the place down with probably one of the most popular sets of the evening.

My Third Leg

I love a bit of ska, as long as it's mixed with generous amount of punk rock and that is what was delivered

during My Third Legs set. Everything that is right about ska-punk was there, it was catchy as hell, had breakdown and speeds up and enough variety to make every song interesting and a joy to listen to. A special mention here should go to Dave the bass player. Not because I have a bass player fetish, but because I freaking love ska walking bass lines done well and he knocked out belters everytime, he also seemed to have his own fan section which is awesome because all bass players need their own fan section!!

Shooting Fish

Sometimes a band with a beautiful lead singer spends too much time worrying about how hot their singer is and forgets to kick ass at the same time. Throughout the history of bands with hot female leads (or at least the ones I'm thinking of in my head) they've always seemed to end up a little more watered down than fully male bands. I'm not sure if this statement makes me a pig or an awful human being but the point of all the pre

ramble is that Shooting Fish haven't let the fact that I fancied the lead singer interrupt them being totally kickass.....

God that sounds bad. Let me start that one again. I loved Shooting Fish, they were all awesome, their songs rocked and I especially loved the Rise Against cover at the end. They all seemed like totally excellent people and the reason I was too nervous to go and chat to them properly is only down to that fact that I am a tool.

Dynamite Dynamite

Dynamite Dynamite may very well be the best band in the UK right now. I challenge anyone to find someone better, and whoever you come to us with as your suggestion will immediately be shown the door as we down at 13SX HQ believe this with extreme prejudice. I do not pretend to be a particularly good reviewer of bands, and it is painfully obvious to anyone who reads these blogs that I'm not good at it. In this case I really think it's a shame because I wish I could find the right words to explain the unadulterated joy I felt watching these guys in musical terms. Were they tight? Yes. Am I still singing all their songs? Yes. Were they the coolest

people in the world? Yes. Did they own the stage like fucking bosses? Yes. There's something good and right and perfect about their sound and I'd spend all of the money I have (which is like £3 right now) making sure I could see them play every day if I could. I dunno what else to say except go listen to them right now and make your life complete.

Demon Smiles

I did a calculation the other day, this calculation determined that I have seen Demon Smiles play a minimum of once every month for the last 8 months. That's a lot of times and I guess that mere fact is testament to how much I love them. Recently they had had the odd technical difficulty here and there but there was no such distraction this time. This was the pure DS experience. When they play on a good day planets move into position and Khonshu smiles on the world. Demon Smiles are just exciting to watch. They love what they do so much that you can't help but become affected by their enthusiasm for super fast melodic punk rock. This was the best I've seen them, and it was humbling. Watching them tear up the room made

that small detail of them fast becoming one of the number 1 punk bands of this generation that much more obvious. Their potential spills from every chord and every beat as they storm through a set on pure balls of steel.

SEEHEARSPEAK

Sweet Jesus. I expected nothing from this band, them having been one of the unknowns (for me) of the evening and from this low vantage point I had my soul torn out my lungs and shown to me in all its glory. That probably made no sense so let me try and elaborate. See Hear Speak are as close to musical perfection as I would dare to guess. I can't begin to find the right amount of positive adjectives to describe them so instead I'm going to go use a thesaurus to help me out. Mind Blowing, astonishing, hallucinatory, staggering, stunning, wonderful, over-whelming, breathatking, wonderous and stupefying. These don't even come close. I wouldn't dare to put them  in a category such as melodic hardcore because the images that may conjure up wouldn't do these guys justice. Every note, syllable and snare crash spoke to me in a thousand languages and all of them told me that this was the greatest moment in existence. My entire outlook of life shifted after listening to See Hear Speak and now my

main goal in life is to try and feel that again. They are my new heroin and I will throw away my pride to seek that hit again.

N.B. I do not, nor have I ever taken heroin and was meerly being poetic and not publically admitting to a drug addiction!!

Real Life Version 

How much can one man give to a show. If you are the drummer of See Hear Speak then that answer if one fucking hell of a lot as he didn't move and stayed to kick out the beats for Real Life Version. Whilst not the all consuming powerhouse that is SHS, Real Life Version do the other half of music with as much precision and excellence as the previous band. And that is writing incredible songs that stay with you and leave you wanting more. All at once they are soulful and powerful and deep and

carefree with a dash of technicality in their melodies recalling such other standout bands such as Thrice and Alexisonfire when they are at their most melodic and not just screaming into a mic. Even without being in their own country and in a dive on the outskirts of London they still had the whole venue jumping and were a perfect climax to the evening.

And there you have it. If you were there let me know if you agree with my roundup of your favourite acts. If you weren't hopefully you can see the unbelievable amount of quality punk rock that was squeezed into one day and you'll bee a part of the next one. If you've made it this far down the blog then thank you for taking the time to read this. I'm just a guy with a guitar who says what he sees when out at gigs and it honestly make me happy to know people read and/or care about what is written on this screen. 

As I'm not the only person anymore who helps with this blog I'd like to thank and give to links to the following:

Chris King who took the incredible pics of the first half of the day. You can find his projects here.

Steve, who presides as king over 13SX promotions. He's my best friend but also now an exemplary business partner. You can see what we're up to on our website.

Don't you dare quit your band!

So I read this blog.

In essence this is basically in my horrendous opinion everything that is wrong with the music industry today so for the first time ever I'm going to write a counter point to this stupid  bunch of words I just had the misfortune of reading.

I have no idea exactly what this guy did in a band before but I can't imagine he really got the idea. He seems to think that being in a band means you just stick three people with an instrument each together and out pops what you assume is the beatles and away you go. The fact that he seems to think that the idea of meeting bands you like is novel makes me think that music for him was only ever a get rich quick scheme. He had some idea that just picking up an instrument and playing without any other effort would propel him to Bon Jovi like stardom and then got disenfranchised once he found out there is just the tiniest bit more to it all than that.

Well screw that guy. Here is why being in a band and sticking to it over the years was the greatest thing

I've ever done:

I'm not in it for the money. I play music because I genuinely love to do it. So I guess yeah if you're whoever wrote that article and seem to hate music for the sake of it then yeah, quit now. Because I love to play music I'm generally attracted to friends to also love to play music and I have probably at some point either played in a band with them, played shows together with them or both. Through playing shows and naturally befriending people through a mutual love of the music we make - not through forcing myself to "network" - we have created our own sub scene within the punk community and that is a wonderful thing. Because we all respect the music we make and encourage each other to stick together and evolve organically we have the fun of seeing each other get better and expand our ranges. We have so many people now who enjoy the music we all make that we have too many acts to put on all at once! This we created not by finding better deals and dumping previous groups and not by going out with the express intention of talking to someone who may be able to further our goals but by actually enjoying the things we love.

I haven't gushed about Demon Smiles for a while but now seems like a perfect time to pick up that mantle again. The three Demon Smiles guys don't play music together for gain or profit. The idea to form a band came before they had even decided on a style or even a complete line-up. The group dynamic isn't one of profession, but of friends from years back and of lovers and overwhelming passion for listening to great music and wanting that to be a part of their lives. That's what makes them special, and no amount of technical prowess or blisteringly fast drumming or beautiful vocals will top that chemistry between them. They sacrifice only what they don't expressly need in their lives to play music. They have day jobs, but music comes second only to the bottom of Maslov's triangle. They don't deliberately go out in the hopes that someone will "notice" them or to scout out opportunities to get into a more commercially viable band, but instead bands and labels and promoters are drawn to them as something truly awesome. If you're really lucky and spend time learning all their songs they'll even let you play songs on stage with them!!! Never throughout all of the successes and welcoming of newer acts is there ever a shred of egotism or vanity either and I think they would disband themselves on the spot if they ever found themselves shunning other bands or talking down to a single person they meet.

And there you have it. Don't ever quit your band. find your bestest friends and be fucking awful and then make friends and then get better and above all fucking love doing it every step of the way.

Demon Smiles
More of This! Fest II
13 Stitches DIY punk promotions

That one time I was at the 12 Bar

I really should stop trying to review gigs. The calamity this time being I gave my camera to some drunk dude who not only didn't bother to stay for the set but disappeared to some bar down the other end of oxford street! cheers for that random guy.Also I couldn't stay to the end so I can't even talk about Top Buzzer!!

Anyways onto another round-up. So I've miraculously never been to the 12 bar before (or if I have I was far far too wasted to remember) and was certainly shocked coming through to what seemed like a murder room in the back only to be told this is where we'd be playing. It was fine though and actually turned out to be an awesome stage to play on. The place is a shithole, but deliberately so. Although the place looks rundown upon further inspection there's not a spec of grime or dust and the toilets are in good nick and each haphazardly stuck sticker on the walls and doors helps to build the character of the place. so good work 12 Bar you've built quite the monument to counter-culture there and it shows.

After a quick sound check and a chicken legend at the maccy D's round the corner things were ready to start. Oddly enough we weren't first on this time so I'll run though the show in order:

  Seek Destroy

You know those guys who whinge about punk being dead and that bands like the ramones and pistols don't exist anymore etc. Well those people need to stop watching MTV whilst crying and come and meet Seek Destroy. This is the punk rock royal guard. slamming out tunes about cunts and other cunts and famous cunts and royal cunts with nothing so trite or unoriginal as a mohican or a studded leather jacket in sight. This is punk as it was meant to sound for the purists. Dirty, shouty, and loud as fuck but with catchy as hell hooks in the choruses and enough solo riffage to show that the music is a choice and a way of life rather than an inability to play more technical stuff. If you're annoyed because Elliot Minor are considered a punk band then get off your high horse, come down and watch a guy in a dress and knee high boots and fabulous hair scream that you're a cunt through a mega-phone and admit that this is were punk went.

Red Rag Front

I honestly thought we'd end up playing to the sound guy again on Saturday and was massively surprised and extremely happy to see a bunch of people not only watching but also enjoying the set. the songs are pretty much second nature now and although Drew swears otherwise I think everything went really goddamned well and I had a lot of very nice people pay me a tonne of compliments afterwards. Getting that kind of feedback is just such a rush and has pretty much set up my entire 2014 to be a good one now. So thanks to anyone who had something good to say. You are the people who keep me caring about the music scene I love.

Slow Faction

I was totally determined not to miss Slow Faction after letting them down a little at More of This! Fest in November. So this time I caught the sound check as well as the set! These guys are another band who like to rock things old school. They wear their influences on their sleeves and I think Joe Strummer would have been mighty happy to give them a listen. I love watching a band who are obviously good friends playing on stage because it always shines through and even on a tiny stage that barely had room for a shimmy Slow Faction had the energy to kill it. You know a song is well written when you're still humming the melody the next day. They didn't like to just kick you in the face with every tune either and the breakdown reggae tinged tunes were just as awesome as the balls out belters. I can't wait till I have a chance to catch these guys again and anyone who hasn't had the pleasure yet should make sure they keep an eye on their tour diary.

The Role Models

So due to some sort of timey wimey hiccupy shenanigans The Role Models went on at the ungodly hour of 11:30 which meant that I wasn't going to be able to watch Top Buzzer. Which sucked because I already know I love Top Buzzer. That meant that this bunch of guys that I was going to watch instead had a lot of making up to do. Luckily they were able to do it in spades! Managing to get a brilliant sound out of the tiny room, I had the pleasure of being able to clearly hear the vocals which were some of the best vocal harmonies I've heard outside of major label bands. The music I wouldn't call punk, more like melodic pop rock but there's nothing wrong with playing a melodic tune with a great hook in the chorus that has an awesome energy behind it too. The Canadian front-man had charm and charisma enough to woo a thousand angry football fans and the band were tight as hell despite being crammed into a space the size of a single bed!!

So although I lost my camera and missed the last band and couldn't hear anything but my own guitar whilst playing I had an incredible time breaking my 12 Bar cherry. Once again meeting new people and making friends took a front seat to actually playing a set and that's what I really love about shows like these. Bring it on 2014! I'm fucking good to go!