Crow

Old crow stood on the roof.
And looked.
Eyes as nightmares
Stared far away
Not bird
But creature, aligned with fear
and shadows
And not one could guess
What he sees.

DOG



^ears^
Pricked up
"!!WHAT WAS THAT!?!?!" (dog)
Orange eyes insisted,
And short / tail poised...
Desperate tongue out!
Mrs Ashton's mini.
Forgotten in a second
And back to sleep ^-.-^

All Time Low - Manchester Academy 1

All Time Low
Academy
February 27, 2011

Happy-go-lucky radio- friendly pop punk has seen us through summer days since Blink 182 brought three chords and toilet humour to the fore.

Who’d have thought a decade later the same formula still works, even if the pants are tighter and the hair longer. And even in the cold northern winter, All Time Low had Academy 1 glowing, not to mention pogo-ing and generally going nuts.

These boys from Baltimore have experienced a quite ridiculous rise to fame, going from high school garage band to MTV sensations in a drum beat.

And it wasn’t hard to see why. As they shifted through tracks off their first two full-lengths, So Wrong It’s Right and Nothing Personal, they made the stage their own, seeming like seasoned professionals despite their youth.

From the veritable coat of bras adorning guitarist Jack Barakat’s mike stand to the ‘me & your mum’ sticker on the back of Zack Merrick’s bass, the sense of humour was as simple as the genre has ever been.

But lead singer/guitarist Alex Gaskarth has star quality and is the engine that makes the foursome tick. His voice is impressive and his stage presence undeniable.

Fan favourites such as Timebomb and Lost in Stereo had the young crowd going silly with excitement and Alex’s frequent and colourful vocal interactions with his audience stirred them up all the more.

Against Me interview with Andrew, from March 2006

On a cold, cold Thursday 16th March, Gainesville’s Against Me rolled their punk/folk/rock wagon into Manchester and played Academy 3. I caught up with bassist Andrew Seward before the show and avoided too much politics, too much major label, and too much planning.

Alex: So, Against Me: clearly you've got influences beyond four chord punk rock. There's a definite folky element to your music. What are your influences beyond punk?

Andrew: Well, our influences are broad. We love great music, as a blanket term. I like listening to Otis Reading, The Clash, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan...we listen to a lot of passionate bands and they've all been an influence.

A: Do you think you manage to include all your major influences in the different areas of your music?

And: Yeah I like to think we achieve that. Like I said, most of our influences are just passionate artists.

A: I know Tom was doing solo acoustic material before Against Me. Does he still get a chance to do any of that?

And: It's always been Against Me even when it was just Tom. Tom still plays some songs on-stage by himself. To be honest Against Me is more a kind of community of people than a band!

A: And you've been through a few line-up changes...

And: Yeah we've had a few but it's been the same members for like four years now. But we do acoustic songs together on some records. It does happen.

A: Any plans for another acoustic album?

And: Not an acoustic album per se, strictly just acoustic tracks. We don't plan anything. On the new record there are a few songs where I play an upright A (acoustic double bass). Sometimes it comes out like that, sometimes we just plug in!

A: You've just signed to Sire Records. From the late 70s and into the 90s they've hosted great bands such as The Ramones, The Smiths and Talking Heads to name a few. Was this a factor in your choice to move to the label?

And: Oh one hundred percent. The guy who runs the label, Seymour Stein: the guy has good taste in music! To be on the same label as Dinosaur Jr, The Cure, and The Ramones as you said is just a little bit unreal. It's not sunk in yet. It is a big thing, it's a big label, but fuck it...we'll just roll with it.

A: Do you see yourself on the same level as bands like those mentioned?

We never planned to get big; the minute you plan on something like that I think you just shoot yourself in the foot. We never really think about that stuff, all we do is tour all the time, and if it gets bigger it gets bigger. If it doesn't, so be it.

A: What is it you think that Sire Records can do for you that maybe Fat Records couldn't?

And: Well it's not really what they can..(pauses to think)..OK, so they can offer a larger audience, they offer the opportunity for that. But they also offer a change. Because we do not like staying stagnant; we like going different places all the time and keeping it interesting for us. If it stops being interesting for us then there's no point. That sounds kind of selfish, but that's how it is.

A: No it's not selfish at all. But on the other hand, you say you don't like getting stagnant and you like change, but couldn't you achieve change within the boundaries of Fat Wreck?

And: I think we did in some way. A lot of people would turn up to our shows and just assume that we were going to sound like that typical Southern Californian style like Lagwagon and No Use For A Name etc. Not that there's anything wrong with those bands, but we don't sound anything like them. Fat has been doing a good job at expanding its sound, and that's great. It wasn't a mean break.

A: Do you ever feel like things are spinning out of your control when you're picked up on and signed by a major label? Is it hard to juggle your band ethics with your position?

And: No I don't think so. The thing about control is, everything is under our control. We wouldn't do anything if it took us out of the picture.

A: I suppose that's the major difference between a good move to a major and a bad one.

And: Exactly. We didn't just jump into this decision. Basically this (the decision process) has been going on for a long time and the ball was in our court. So we...

A: Took it and ran?

And: Yeah pretty much!

A: Now, many people actually like to describe your band as the saviours of punk..(Andrew pulls a face at this). How aware are you of this, and do you make an active step to pull punk in a certain direction or do you just do what you do? Thinking about it, based on the answers you've already given me I think it's fairly obvious you just do your own thing.

And: We do what we do, and we've never thought of ourselves as saviours of anything. I think if we did we'd be the most vain assholes imaginable!

A: Haha no of course, but do you think people look at you in a different light from other bands because of what you do?

And: I don't know. I think some people have said it and other people have latched onto it like it's a bad thing. All we want to do is play music and do a good job of it, and bring some fucking cheer to people across the world! I know that sounds cheesy.

A: It's a good aspiration.

And: We want people to go away from our shows with smiles on their faces instead of frowns.

A: Talking politics for a moment, do you think Bush's sceptical abilities as President are good for punk rock? After all, you've got to have something to hate.

And: Whenever the government is at its worst is the best time for punk rock. You've got Nixon, Reagan... But I almost feel sorry for George Bush in a way, and this will explain itself in a second: he's so stupid that it's not his fault. It's Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rice and Ashcroft. They're the ones pulling the puppet strings. And they're harder to focus on.

A: It was a work of genius putting Condoleezza Rice's name as the chorus of a song. How did it come about?

And: Yeah that one just came about really quickly. We were in practise and said "yeah let's play this one really fast and just rock out" and it just came out. We just actually made a video to that song which will be out in about two weeks. That could get us into some...it's not going to get us into problems but it just might get us some feedback! I hope not though.

A: I interviewed Chris Wollard from Hot Water Music last year, and he was talking about how Gainesville was something of a melting pot of artistic expression, not just with music but in general. Was that an atmosphere that helped push the band when you were within that scene?

And: Well one of the things I'm sure Chris touched on is that a lot of kids go to Gainesville. The average age of our city is like 23 years old. A lot of people start bands and there's a lot of youthful energy there, and of course that helps.

A: A few questions from our own scene's local message board, mancpunkscene. Is Chop Chop/Ed Is Sexy, a song from the demo that didn't make the new album, going to be recorded and released at some point?

And: What's the song called again?

A: It's called Chop Chop/Ed Is Sexy. I've never heard of it myself, I don't know if that’s just a demo name or working title or something?

And: The thing is with the demo: none of the songs have names! Whoever stole those songs has named them. What was that one? Chop Chop?

A: Chop Chop/Ed Is Sexy.

And: I haven't got a clue.

A: Ed must have been the guy who stole it.

And: Yes, haha. If I heard it I could tell you. Some songs didn't sound right, but I'm sure it might make a future appearance somewhere.

A: Any plans for more songs with horns, such as 'Disco Before The Breakdown'?

And: Well 'Miami', the first song on the new record has horns in it. We don't have any plans as such for a full horn section in any songs. Generally how it works is someone will hear something in their head like a keyboard part or a horn part, and we'll make it happen. It might sometimes be a little pre-meditated but it's never like "We got to have horns in this song".

A: Have you ever felt the lyrics to 'Pints Of Guinness Make You Strong' have been misinterpreted as a drinking anthem rather than it carrying the meaning it was originally intended to?

And: Oh definitely. Their Tom's lyrics so I can only give my interpretation of it, but it's the story of his Grandma, and about his Grandpa dying. It's not a happy song although it may sound like that. I think it gets misunderstood, but people who are interested in the songs, they know what it's about.

A: So last question: If it all ended tomorrow, as these things do, what would you move onto?

And: Well I would have a smile on my face because I've already done more than I ever thought I would. Then I'd probably go home and sleep for about a month!

A: Thanks very much Andrew.

Fire






There is a fire that burns inside
The darkest corners of my mind
A fire that I can never stop
That needs no fuel to keep it hot

A fire that burns without regard
For payrise or company car
A fire that won't be quenched with tears
That burns and burns through all my years

And it was lit when I was young
I listened as that young man sung
I watched his anger fill the air
And felt it burn inside my head

Then as the heat boiled through my blood
Suddenly I understood
That this was only just the start
And then the flames engulfed my heart

And like that flame I’ll never stop
Don’t believe in growing up
Pension plans and cosy jobs
I’ll hit repeat until I drop.

Wet Leaves

I’d never considered leaves dangerous before around two weeks ago when I went straight on my arse down Parsonage Road.
The street leads to my house from Withington and is by it's very nature leafy. This in itself is nothing strange.
In fact, many of our country’s streets are lined with silent deciduous sentinels, patiently enduring the temperamental seasons, accepting fair and foul without complaint.
Autumn arrives and most trees die. I mean, not die, but they look like death. Dark and skeletal they become; lifeless, featureless husks, old as the year itself.
At their feet they shed their summer coat, by which I mean of course, their leaves. (deadly leaves?)
Wet autumn leaves remind me of the cornflakes in the bottom of your bowl, all stuck together, soggy and deeply unappealing.
The pavement along Parsonage Road is poorly maintained and my footwear was in hindsight completely inappropriate.
The Fred Perry pumps had been purchased enthusiastically, but were not intended as a working man’s shoe, and the feeble grids on the sole had capitulated long ago.
Surprisingly, considering I’m very tall and have a centre of gravity where most people’s head belongs, I don’t fall over often, and so it came as a huge shock to me.
As my right foot planted on a sideways incline in the uneven pathway, it lost all friction thanks to the aqueous foliage, and sliced violently across my left foot, taking that with it as it flew skywards and thus sending the opposite end of my body hurtling towards earth.
I’d been carrying shopping…
I landed on my right flank, my left hand and my right elbow all at once. My immediate thought was, “My tomatoes are on the floor,” but then I realised I was bleeding profusely from a cut on my hand.
The bleeding hand grabbed the tomatoes, and with my good hand clutching both shopping bags I hauled myself to my feet.
I HAD been seen. “Are you alright?” said this guy, a young guy, probably a student. He’d tell his flatmates about it when he got home and they’d have a laugh at my expense. That’s okay.
“Fine, thanks,” I replied, raising the bleeding hand a little in acknowledgement.
I wasn’t fine, I was in a lot of pain. Not like a woman in labour, or a soldier, but in a normal, everyday kind of a way. On the everyday pain scale it was an eight out of ten.
There’s nothing he could do about that though. Maybe give me a friendly hug or something, but that would have been awkward.
I stumbled the short distance home. I’ve got some new work shoes now, and I treat wet leaves like ice, bending my knees and walking slowly across them or walking on the road in order to avoid them altogether.
If you see me acting strangely around wet leaves, or cornflakes, hopefully you’ll be sympathetic.

Calicade – Done With City Point (review)

Calicade – Done With City Point

Self Released


Thanks to its grey skies and violent nightlife, Manchester has mainly spent the noughties developing a habit of producing raucous metal bands…just as one might expect from a city with a reputation for drug fuelled indie rock, I suppose.
Calicade, with their debut full length Done With City Point continue the trend to an extent, but there’s a bit more to their sound than the usual shout n’ thrash fare.
They sound accomplished musically, to the extent one could fairly compare their riffs to the complex chopping of Parkway Drive. But while the beast has a metal hide, its heart is hardcore, with Comeback Kid’s gutsy gang vibe seeping through.
Frontman Daniel Tetlow’s voice is somewhat unconventional for this family of music in that he produces more of a yell than a roar, giving him a distinctive, if slightly unstable quality. Sometimes it works well and offers a raw, unleashed feel to the band, although on occasional it seems like he’s straining to make himself heard in the mix.
Atmospheric breakdowns and interludes are nothing new in metalcore but Calicade perform them well, with ex-Pendleton drummer Jason Gough’s accomplished skin-thumping carrying the songs majestically along.
Another nice touch are the poppier overtones of the music. Again the odd earnest clean vocal amid the metal is something we’ve come to expect, but Calicade throw interesting, well though out slices of melody over their sound, a step up from the usual bleating Americanised smush.
The occasionally stereotypical and slightly repetitive nature of some of the tracks betrays the fact that there is still work to be done on this band, but for a first (and self-produced) album this very much suggests there is more to come from these boys.
Leave out the vocoder bit in the next album though, please!


Done With City Point will be released on Spotify and iTunes this month.



By Alex Phelan