issue 3

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SECOND CITY IS:DANIEL ALSTON - EDITOR / DESIGN / PHOTOGRAPHYANTONY SCOTT BRAY - ASSISTANT EDITOR

CONTRIBUTIONS :JOSHUA GARVEYDANGEROUS JAMIEMARTIN COGLEY (KONG PHOTOS)GRAEME OXBY (DAVE FORMULA PHOTOS)

WWW.SECONDCITYUK.COMMYSPACE.COM/SECONDCITYUKSEARCH FOR ‘SECOND CITY MAGAZINE’ ON FACEBOOK.

secondcityuk.com | 3

welcome!hello again, and thanks for picking up issue 3 of second city magazine - your free guide to what’s really going on in manches-ter.

this month we’ve got some pretty great interviews, with the likes of author and ex-hacienda dj dave haslam, local rockers the freezing fog and the shadowcops and diy label lab records.

we also take a look at the origins of emo music - in light of the trouble over in eastern europe, catch up with genre terrorists sonic boom six and speak to dave formula of magazine about their recent reformation.

on top of all that, there’s a look at the hq of hip-hop in the city - hit & run, as well as loads of reviews, previews, listings and discussion. Oh, and we managed to bag an interview with the souls behind kong as well. we hope you enjoy!

We spoke in the last two issues about the increasing number of local independent record shops being forced to shut down all over the country, and how important it is to support them. Well... Manchester isn’t immune to this problem, and sadly Roadkill Records - previously our one-stop source for almost all alternative music - closed it’s door for the last time. Feeling the credit crunch and the industry problem of battling legal and illegal downloads, Liam had little option. After over 4 years of supplying a fi ne array of music at great prices, we thank him and all involved for their valiant efforts and wish all the best in future endeavours.

In its place on Oldham Street in the Northern Quarter, sits Rockers England. Selling “custom culture clothes and accessories for the discerning Rock N’ Roller”, this will be the 4th home for the shop in as many years. Brands stocked include Collectif, Lucky 13, Liquor Brand, Mode Merr, Felon, Under-ground, TUK and many many more. Pop down and have a nosey. There’s also a CD and fanzine rack with a growing collection, as well as a big set of shelves full of fl yers for upcoming gigs and nights.

Visit : myspace.com/rockers_england or www.rockersengland.co.uk for more details.

We’ve still got a few record shops specialising in varying types of music in Manchester, so next time you think about going to one of the big chains to buy a CD, consider where your money would be most appreciated. And if you’re from outside of our fair city, support your local traders before they suffer the same fate.

In light of everything going online however, here’s a few sites for you to bookmark - as well as our own naturally!

www.ilovemanchestermusic.com - Launching in April, this site aims to continue the underground forum that originally started as Manc Punk Scene and has more recently been under the Make Noise Manchester and Roadkill Records monikers. An ever-growing community of musicians, promoters and general fans of local music alike, get yourself on there to keep abreast of all goings-on and feel a part of it. Also get down to Satan’s Hollow for the site’s launch party - featuring some of the best local bands in the form of The Freezing Fog, The Shadowcops, Revenge Of The Psychotronic Man, Stand Out Riot, Hot Bone, Louis Barrabas & The Black Velvet Band plus one more TBC. 5.30-11pm, £4 advance tickets, £5 OTD.

www.mindonfi re.co.uk - The Mind On Fire collective recently held a series of launch parties to spread word of their website - dubbed ‘the home of forward thinking Manchester music’. A lovely looking site with lots of free stuff including mixes and MP3 downloads from artists within the MOF camp. If the credit crunch is really that bad, at least you can always rely on freebies. No excuses there.

Alston + Scott

roadkill records closes


Every month we’ll be giving you the chance to win our Album Of The Month. All you have to do is email - [email protected]. Simple! Winners will be drawn at random and notifi ed via email by April 15th.

Congratulations to Hannah Parker who won last week’s competition. She gets 3 CDs courtesy of TNS Records.

Subscribe to our mailing list for fortnight-ly newsletters including up-to-date gig listings, news, special offers and opportu-nities. www.secondcityuk.com

news in brief Daggers (might) have called it a day. Burnst have split up. Hail Brethren are currently on hiatus. Brutus are back in action in April. Oceansize are to release ‘Frames’ in the USA, as well as a DVD collection of their recent 3 sell-out gigs at The Roadhouse. Tim And Sam’s Tim And The Sam Band With Tim And Sam have their own residency down in London at The Big Chill House. Everything Everything have a new video for ‘Photoshop Handsome’, which should grace music TV channels with any luck. Cats In Paris have parted ways with vocalist/keyboardist Sara, but are set to continue as a 3-piece. Nine Black Alps have recorded a new album, due for release later this year. As have Revenge Of The Psychotronic Man - ‘Make Pigs Smoke’ out May 1st. The Emos are cur-rently touring in support of their debut album - a £2 bargain. Light Syndicate released their album as we were going to press - check our website for a review as well as more reviews of Baked Goods releases including Liondialer and Stranger Son of WB...

WIN!


MARTIN COGLEY P H O T O G R A P H Y

LIVE MUSIC EVENTS

COMMERCIALPRODUCT

BAND PHOTOGRAPHY

WWW.MARTINCOGLEY.COM

secondcityuk.com | 7secondcityuk.com | 7

Masks and orange jump-suits, you say? No, this isn’t a British Slipknot. This is something far more sinister. This is Kong; a three-piece raw rock band that should be taken very seriously…

STEPPING OUT OF THE SHADOWS OF OCEANSIZE and SIGNING TO THE SAME LABEL AS THE BRONX, 2009 is the year of the

PHO

TO :

MA

RTIN

CO

GLE

YSTEPPING OUT OF THE SHADOWS OF

SAME LABEL AS THE BRONX, 2009 is the

KINGsKONG...

KINGs OF THEKINGsKINGsKINGs OF OF THETHE

jungle

Forget the connections to post-rock’s modern day he-roes Oceansize; Kong are a completely different ket-tle of fi sh. They’re fucking rabid sharks. Deranged, un-hinged and devoid of false pretences. It’s rock Jim, but

not as we currently know it...

“Kong began as an outlet for all the things normal peo-ple keep inside. I suppose it’s a way of being nasty and still being on the right side

of the law. I think we began around 3-4 years ago as a free-time thing only, but it’s grown up since then. It seems to have no control anymore.”

The past year saw the evolution for the trio; fi nally getting music out in physical format and pushing forward in general.

“We offi cially released music last year, which was a big step. We made videos, did some TV and radio work and basically started fi lter-ing through to more people through to more people without any extra effort on our part. I mean our setup, until last year, hadn’t changed for 12 months. I guess this music takes a while to sink in.”

And that highly-anticipated debut album is

coming. They signed a deal before Christmas with Los Angeles-based label White Drugs – home of The Bronx no less!

“It’s an honour to be under their umbrella for sure! it must seem strange that we’re en-dorsed by a label that is so tight-knit and “L.A.”, but we’re family now. They get involved at eve-ry level; from artwork to actually performing on recordings! Brew records control us here in the UK, and they have been amazing. ‘Con-trol’ really is the right word too!”

Such has been the excitement surrounding the band, minimal UK gigging has only fur-thered the commotion overseas.

“We are yet to play off these shores, so I can’t honesty gauge it and I dare not ask about


sales. A friend of ours has tried repeatedly to get the record in Japan, but it seems to fl y out on pre-order. I think the States will be the fi rst port of call for the Kong speeder.”

Very much still involved with the under-ground scene within Manchester, Kong are keen to highlight some of their fa-vourite picks of the city.

“Manchester will always be the place I go for music. There seems to be more grit and reality in Northern music. I enjoy most of the nights down at the Star & Garter these days - Fight Club and Golden Lab nights. They reintroduced art into the promotion and selection process and that excited us and we wanted to play those shows in squats and fl ats. Burnst are probably the band I would say we all love from Manchester. Our personal tastes are very different but Burnst seem to transcend that.”

It seems the band aren’t content with hav-ing their fi ngers in all these pies; they’re staying tight-lipped, but point to several other things on the horizon.

“Oh no, we have more projects than ever at the moment! I can’t really go into details

but we will be collaborating with some great musicians this year, along with the Kong records and other shits we got going in the proverbial pan.”

And to outpass the progress made in 2008, the band are steamrolling into 2009 with a high agenda.

“Well we’re recording our fi rst BBC Ses-sion at Meida Vale now; the fruits of which I hope make a release at some point. We release our debut LP ‘Snake Magnet’ in April, and we’re writing the new one now so it’s all go. The next al-bum is most likely to be recorded at The Big Game Lodge in Hollywood, Califor-nia. I hope to capture the burritos and plastic tits that will inhabit our lives whilst we lay the fucker down.”

KONG ARE :Magpie - Guitar/Vocals

Lulu - Bass/VocalsKrem - Drums

myspace.com/kongdom


Hello again. Firstly I hope you all had a grand festive period, and that the ongoing economic gloom isn’t affecting you too much.

I write this just days after being dared to sport a handlebar moustache for a whole month. Whether it says more about my inability to say ‘no’, or the fool-ishness a Friday night can bring, who knows. Either way, I’m stuck with this until the morning of my 22nd birthday. Personally, I’m holding out for a sud-den 70s revival; for which I’ll be readily equipped.

I had a few things in mind about what to write about on this here page, most of which I ended up contributing to various blogs, zines and the like. In-stead I’ve opted to answer a few FAQs we’ve had over the past few months. Most of them were addressed in Issue 1 briefl y, but for those who didn’t catch it, allow me to explain...

Q) Why ‘Second City’?A) Probably what was asked most initially, much less so now. What started out as an idea over a few beers and a bit tongue-in-cheek, became the actual name for the magazine after sober discus-sion. There is, contrary to popular belief, no offi cial title of England’s second city. Birmingham, for all its size and stature, has much less signifcance in terms of cultural and industrial importance within our country. Manchester’s history, exports and heritage need not be listed here, but as people who have lived in and around the city for our entire lives to date, we felt that if there were such a title, then there would only be one rightful recipicient. Hell, even John Pres-cott said it a few years back, and you wouldn’t mess with him, would you? In addition, there’s also the universal parallel that to tens of thousands of students, Manchester is their home from home; their second city. Therefore it was designed to make them feel welcome and included.

Q) Why purple and orange?Manchester City Council’s colours. Plus the fact we didn’t want to show sporting favour (although I’m a Red by the way).

Q) Why bi-monthly?Initially we were going to be monthly. However, with the fact that the businesses we were seeking adver-tising from were feeling the economic pinch, we thought it best to offer them twice the period of ad-vertising for our same low rates (see back page!) We’re good people like that, y’see.

Q) Why A5?We always wanted to try and bridge the gap between fanzines and magazines - creating something that everyone from music elitists to the most passive of people would want to pick up and read. This is es-sentially a fanzine for Manchester-specifi c musings, produced in magazine quality. The fact that it’s full-colour and glossy comes into this equation also. Some fanzines don’t manage to showcase the imagery de-servedly, but here we can display photographs by people as they were meant to be seen. The one thing I have learnt from working on a publication of this size however, is that sometimes it’s hard to chop away at someone’s quotes. We’ve already had some re-ally interesting interviews, and a few have been a real challenge to scale down to fi t on the pages! Further-more, with A4 magazines that you see in public plac-es, people may well scan through them, but with A5 there is the obvious advantage of them being small enough to take home. It’s been very rewarding to see our stockpiles very low, and just as rewarding to put more down in place.

Q) What’s next?Well there’s a few things I want to keep under our hats for the time being, but I can probably say that we’ll be branching out into different areas of media within the next few months. It will be very exciting!

[email protected]


Hey! Man, only the second issue and I got to inter-view Paul Draper. Paul fucking Draper! It’s like I’m 4 years old and I’ve just seen Santa putting pressies un-der my tree. Don’t believe me? Ask Alsty what I was like at his fl at! Speaking Of Chrimbo, I hope you all had a great Christmas and here’s to a great 2009!

Finally I get to take a second to say a big thank you to Alston for his faith and his support in putting this mag together. The dude works tirelessly and I hope you guys appreciate him as much as I do and a big thanks to you guys as well to for digging it. So, much love! Last issue I said I was going to look at the dreaded sophomore slump so here we go...

Picture the scene. After years of playing in a band and all that goes along with it, Mr. Major comes along and signs you up to a big fat record deal. Gone are the days of sweaty vans, small venues, tiresome drives and the like, and hello juicy advance, swanky studios and support slots. All that material that you’ve spent your whole life working on about the experiences that you’ve had, all the girls that reject-ed you when you were young, living hand to mouth. The stuff that made you want to be a musician in the fi rst place, put down in a nice studio, tweaked by the magic fi ngers of a producer who’s experienced and knows what a good pop record sounds like.

Then along comes the hype-mobile; press agents who know how to make bands public names, how to get you on the right radio stations, TV shows, in fi lms and adverts. You’ve come along at the right time and the press love you. The people get you. They’re hear-ing your song so often they know it word for word. They’re dancing to your record in clubs and paying large amounts to see you play live in big venues in month-long tours. You’re supporting bands you look up to in even bigger venues. The record company is happy so they go to get the next band to redo the

procedure and expect you to do it again in 6 months.

Only now the girls all love you and you’re living quite comfortably in comparison. You’re shattered from the touring and probably sick of the sight of the guys you’re working with after living in their pockets for a year. The hype-mobile has another driver now so you don’t quite have the same backing but because of the success of your fi rst offering you’re expected to do just as well. Your second album sells, but not quite as well as your fi rst and all of a sudden you’ve lost it!

And so is the case with a lot of bands. The Killers are an example of this. People ask me for Killers songs when I DJ, but people still only ever ask for stuff off the fi rst album! It gets on my nerves a bit because ‘When We Were Young’ is better than anything on there. I say don’t write off bands after the hype dries up. They’re a different band, so grow with them - even though it’s hard not to compare to previous albums. Best of luck to the Ting Tings because I don’t think they’ll have the same backing on their next album.

It’s part of the reason I prefer independent bands to those on the majors; less hype, less pressure. Check out anything on Jealous Records for example. Hey, some even have to do real jobs to support themselves so they tend to stay on my level. The ones that do progress to a major label tend to have a longer shelf life afterwards because of the experience they gain on those independent labels. Blur, R.E.M. and Sonic Youth for example, so I keep my fi ngers crossed for the likes of Biffy Clyro, Kings Of Leon et al. The Gos-sip and Klaxons next albums will test my theory so I’ll play close attention to them!

At the end of the day music is a matter of taste, and thankfully there are a lot of fl avours out there. I just think the soup of the day could taste just as good to-morrow if you give it a shot! I’m just saying!

[email protected]

11

Formerly known as Rowley, this floating specimen is now a ma-ture vessel ready to set sail.Let’s cut to the chase; this is in-die-rock at its modern-day fin-est. Instead of following trends or painting by numbers, this is sugary-sweet, intelligent and so intricately sublime that it is deservedly gaining radio time. It’s irrepressible and charming at the same time and we for one can’t get enough.Debut EP ‘Spirit Of The Beehive’ has been a favourite at Sec-ond City HQ over the wintery months, yet it remains perfect

for the onset of Spring and right through Summer.Soft vocals, clever guitar-work and laden with drives and memorable choruses - it’s pop music that should be lapped up by everyone from NME to MTV.With songs so polished they’d make Chris Martin turn green with envy, this band are onto big things with their new guise.We can’t speak highly enough, so just go ahead and listen al-ready before you forget and then they’re massive.

“Like Santana covering Swans”... Yeah, we can’t really top that description of the noise Go Lebanon emit. It’s jazz. It’s ambi-ent-rock. It’s art-punk. It’s bloody great. Dual guitars, melodic bass and peaceful-then=frenzical drumming, coupled with in-frequent droning vocals and careful use of a trombone. Aye, exactly - but don’t be afraid of this confusing mix. Go listen to Go Lebanon.MYSPACE.COM/GOLEBANONGIGS : NONE LINED UP.

Were FBP already clued-up as to Barack Obama’s rise to presidency when they formed back in Summer 2007? Either way, their tongue-in-cheek moniker is accompanied by very serious music. Fuzz rock done rightly, along the lines of Sonic Youth and Fugazi. Eerie and delicate, but ready to explode at will.We’re not entirely sure if FBP will return to gig-ging anytime soon, or if this is even the end of the road. We hope not, but keep your ears to the ground for any spin-offs if that is the case. MYSPACE.COM/FIRSTBLACKPRECEDENTFOR FANS OF: SONIC YOUTH, FUGAZI, PAVEMENT.

Yeah, it’s been done before: 3 MCs and 1 DJ (and a bassist). But this ain’t no Beastie Boys gimmick. Hip-hop with jazz, funk and even ska beats, these young lads are currently recording their debut album, with current EP ‘ Time To Put The Kettle On’ being well received all round. They’re supporting Goldie Looking Chain at Moho Live on March 10th, so get down if you’re not too hard-up about humour in rap. MYSPACE.COM/CDUBSOUNDTRACKFOR FANS OF : DE LA SOUL, BEASTIE BOYS.

Quite simply the most beautiful music com-ing out of Manchester. And we don’t say that lightly. Made up of 7 musicians harbouring obvious talent, their blues/soul-pop emittance sent shivers down our back on first listen. And again on the twenty first. If they are even half as captivating live and in person, then you ca sure as hell expect to be hearing a lot more about Eskimo Cowboy. Wowzers.MYSPACE.COM/ESKIMOCOWBOYGIGS : APRIL 18TH @ ACADEMY 3.

Debut albums. You only get one shot at them. That’s why The Shad-owcops have bided their time, building up a repu-tation in between EPs and fi ne-honing their rock n’ roll across the UK.Now the time is right, they’re ready to unleash 12-track ‘A Big Pot Of Hot’...

MIKE A: This has been brew-ing up for the best part of two years now. After releasing a few EP’s it seemed like we should put the effort in to release an album and see if we could make

something we’re all proud of. NAT: I think it’s an accurate rep-resentation of everything each of us love about music; loud guitars, big riffs, catchy hooks and tight, fast drums and all thrown into a gloriously mixed big pot of hot (ahem).MACKLE: Lets cut all the bol-locks, I want as many people to hear this album as possible, ‘cause its quite catchy y’know.

So how did it all start? Well it seems the fi ckle nature of the music industry was one of the initial catalysts...

NAT: Me and Mackle had been

dicking around in bands to-gether since way back in 1997. In about 2004 I got really annoyed at the amount of shite that was around. I became really desper-ate to make some decent and honest rock music, and fast. The obvious person I turned to was Mackle and the band just sort of grew from there. Avery was recommended to us by his girlfriend and, after losing our original guitarist we met a very pissed up Pollitt at a mutual friends wedding in Ireland. The rest as they say...

Indeed. So now, having played a good deal of their more recent

A BIG POT OF HOT!A BIG POT OF HOT!Salford’s riff kings The Shadowcopsserve up their debut album...

Manchester gigs through TNS Records, it seemed only logical that the album would be released by the local punk/ska label.

MIKE P: TNS are good people who put their hearts and souls into everything they do, and we’re dead grateful for everything they’ve done to help us out. They just support the stuff they like, and we were lucky enough to be one of those they liked!

A lot of bands these days don’t like to draw comparisons between themselves and other acts; opt-ing to naively label themselves as ‘unique’.

But as wide as The Shadowcops’ sound is, they’re not afraid to namedrop infl uences.

MIKE A: I tell people at work that we sound a bit like Guns’N’Roses but I tell rock fans we sound like The Wildhearts. Personally I think there’s more of a 80’s punk edge to us but they’re both useful com-parisons.

So... after the release, what’s next on the agenda?

MIKE A: We’ll be writing more songs for the next one, so there’ll be no rest for the creative juices. Also we’ll be touring in April.

+ THE SHADOWCOPS ARE : Nathan Mallon (Vocals/Guitars), Mike Pollitt (Vocals/Guitar), Mike Avery (Bass) and Steven Mackle (Drums).

+ GIGS : APRIL 19TH @ SATAN’S HOLLOW w/The Freezing Fog, Revenge Of The Psychotronic Man, Hot Bone, Stand Out Riot, Louis Barra-bas & The Black Velvet Band plus 1TBC. £4 advance tickets/£5 on the door. 6-11pm.

MIKE P: I’ve always said that this year I’d like to try and get on some decent tour support. I think that would be the next logical step for us. Also if all goes to plan we’ll be playing our fi rst overseas gigs this year.NAT: If we carry on writ-ing the way we have I’ll be a happy man. I enjoy playing in this band so much, I honestly couldn’t care what happens next...

Read our review of ‘A Big Pot Of Hot’ on page 26!

myspace.com/theshadowcops

“Let’s cut all the bollocks; we want as many people as possible to hear this.”

October 2008 sees us jetting off to America for the second time

this year. Our first visit was in March, when we spent 2 weeks on

the East Coast visiting cities such as Boston, Baltimore, Buffalo and

New York. This time we get to go round the whole of the USA as

we are there for 6 weeks.

We start off in the East Coast where we visit Connecticut, Boston

and New York again. It’s so cool to see our fan base growing in these

states since we last visited in March. We spent the Halloween weekend

playing with Big D and the Kids Table in Boston and then a gig with ska

legends The Toasters and The Pietasters in New York City.

WITH...

sonic boom six

MANCHESTER’S HIP-HOP REGGAE-PUNKS WRITE FOR SECOND CITYABOUT THEIR RECENT US TOUR.

On The Roadmyspace.com

/sonicboomsix

ww

w.sonicboom

six.co.uk


After The Toasters gig we fly off to LA to play a Mexican Halloween

night in Hollywood with The Voodoo Glowskulls. A day off in Hollywood

the next day meant that we could do the whole tourist thing, which is

always fun! We visited Sunset Strip – The Rainbow Bar really is as cool

as you’d imagine it to be with loads of pictures of members of Guns and

Roses, Skid Row and Poison covering the walls! We stopped off for a

bit of shopping at Melrose Avenue, checked out Hollywood Boulevard

and even

found time to have a quick drink with The Gaslight

Anthem.

We’re actually in America for Election Day and we felt

very privileged to be there for such a momentous oc-

casion. Wherever we had been, since we arrived, the at-

mosphere had been electric. Every motel, restaurant, TV

programme or services we went to there were people

talking about Obama – some good, some bad. It was

good to see so many young people getting excited about

politics, voting and trying to make a difference by hav-

ing their say instead of. being disinterested or being of

The rest of our trip includes visits to Las Vegas, Nashville, Miami and Atlanta where we receive great receptions. A month after leaving the East Coast we find our round trip brings us straight back there for the last leg of our tour. We spend our last few days touring with Pilfers and Bomb the Music Industry before we head back to the UK for one day off before we kick off our UK tour! As much as we loved America and the gigs there, it’s nice to be back! There’s a sense of security in the UK for us and it’s nice to visit places and see people that we know and to be able to use our own gear. In America we were limited to what we could play as the UK is a couple of years ahead with our releases but for this UK tour we went all out and played songs that we’ve never played live before and which span from when we started to now! We’d also just released our remix and rarities CD ‘Play On’ so it was nice to see fans getting something new this year and if that wasn’t enough, we also unveiled our new guitarist, Nick Horne. We were joined by our good friends Babar Luck and Mouthwash. December is always a fun time to play and we really got into the Christmas spirit this year, once the jetlag subsided! Some of the highlights of the tour were the London, Manchester and Nottingham dates. Laila Khan (Lead Vocalist)

the opinion that what they think doesn’t matter or won’t make any difference.After a couple of gigs in Cali-fornia we head South to Arizona and Texas. The gigs so far have been pretty cool and exciting, as we’ve not known what to expect like we do in the UK. It’s been great to see how many people have heard of us and know our music. Sometimes I’m asked what I think about the Internet and how it works for Sonic Boom Six. I can only

say that it works for us in promoting what we have to say by the reception we get when we visit places like America. We turn up to places like New Orleans and there’s 300 kids going mental and singing along to all our songs!

SB6 are back in Manches-ter on Friday 20th March at Academy 2 supporting The

Beat. The new remix and rari-ties double CD ‘Play On’ is available now on Rebel Alli-

ance Recordings - www.rebelalliancerecordings.

com

INCOMINg...touring and overseas bands playing manchester this month.

pneu (france)

static radionj (USA)

myspace.com/staticradio

myspace.com/pneupnewFat Out Till You Pass Out present...‘Pneu’ means ‘tyre’ in French. But don’t let that inanimate object reference put you off. This two-piece may as well be a whole fucking vehicle rather than simply a compo-nent for transport. Fast, frantic and meandering musical voyages; YouTube shows they are as mesmerising live as would be expected. No vocals, and that’s the way this sort of music should stay. Breakneck riffs and thought-out beats; you’d be hard-pushed to put lyrics over the top. We’ll see you there!Friday 20th March @ Kro Bar, 325 Oxford RoadMONOBROW / PNEU / SHIELD YOUR EYES / SAMUEL SHARPDoors at 7.30pm, £5 entry.

Last Lung present... Hitting these shores in support of their new LP ‘An Evening of Bad Decisions’, New Jersey’s Static Radio aim to show exactly why’ve they’ve shot to promi-nence so soon.With their Lifetime-esque punk-rock, they’ve bagged the pleasure of touring with Bouncing Souls and The Ergs, as well as a spot on the Hot Water Music reunion show. Come down to this high-quality all-dayer and see what all the fuzz is about for yourself.Saturday 28th March @ The Oxford, Oxford RoadCHIEF / MILLOY / STATIC RADIO NJ / THE ARTERIES / THE RUINED / CUTTING CLASS / COP OUT / APOLOGIES, I HAVE NONE / THE AUTONOMADS / THE COST OF LIVING / RED; THE RESISTANCE + MORE TBC1pm-11pm, £5.

bridge andtunnel (usa)

earth + stebmo(USA)

The Real Collective present...It’s not every month you get a band on No Idea Records on these shores, but the good people that make up The Real Collective keep pulling out all the stops. My personal pick of their March-April gigs is this particular one. New Yorker’s Bridge And Tun-nel cross over to the UK with their blend of an-themic indie-punk-rock following much-hyped US performances, and a stunning debut album in the form of ‘East/West’.They’re made up of members and ex-members of Latterman, Fellow Project, Con Amore, Sling-shot Dakota, The Solidarity Pact, and Regarding I. Busy men that certainly know what they’re do-ing. And do you know what you should be doing? Attending this!Friday 24th April @ Kro Bar, 325 Oxford RoadBRIDGE AND TUNNEL / OK PILOT / CARRAWAY / BREAK THE HABIT.8pm onwards, £5 entry.

myspace.com/bridgeandtunnelmusic

myspace.com/stebmomyspace.com/earthoffi cial

Lamb & Wolf present...After a sell-out show at Manchester’s Zion Arts Cen-tre last year, Earth make their return.Accredited with infl uencing bands such as Sun O)))and Boris, the Dylan Carlson-led group have done a lot in their two decades of existence.Pioneers of instrumental rock and drone, they are joined on tour by multi-instrumentalist Steve Moore (under the name Stebmo), with whom they co-operated on 2008 release ‘The Bee’s Made Honey In The Lion’s Skull’. He’ll be performing numbers from his self-titled debut album.An evening that promises to be as busy as it is pow-erful.Saturday 18th April @ Islington Mill, SalfordEARTH / STEBMO / GNOD / BRITTLE STARS + MORE TBC. Doors at 6pm, £10 advance tickets.

myspace.com/bridgeandtunnelmusic

19

touring and overseas bands playing manchester this month.

After much confusion trying to give away a free ticket I missed the support band Athlete. Having caught them live a few years ago I have bought all their albums since feeling they are a band that are going to come into their own at any minute. ‘Hurricane’ aside they haven’t yet but my mum said they were ace! (Mums don’t use words like ace do they?) So after a lot of standing around the lights go out and I await the band I’ve seen live more than any other, bar one. Yes I’m a fan and expectations are high. So I was a little deflated when a video package entitled ‘If you could have one thing for Christmas’ appeared. Among the obvious requests,; world peace, the end of poverty and the like, came an older chap saying ‘Women and booze! Is that two things?’ and a guy dressed as Santa saying ‘All the kids in the world to be naughty, I mean who wants to work on Christmas.” God bless British humour. I was laughing so hard I almost missed Tim Booth appearing in the crowd singing ‘Lose Control’. Booth then made his way through the crowd to-wards the stage in an act that was so pretentious even Bono wouldn’t get away with it. But this is Manchester and James own Manchester and they prove it too, tearing through a set, which could have been entitled ‘The Best of James live and then some”. All the hits were there - ‘Laid’, ‘Sit Down’, ‘Sometimes’, ‘Ring The Bells’, though seem-ingly played at a snails pace or is that what eupho-ria feels like? Pulling out some hidden gems too like ‘Porcupine’ (?) that required a lyric sheet and ‘Stutter’, which featured one of many extensive jam sessions and up to four drum kits (I swear!). ‘How Was It For You?’ It was something else and my nights still not over yet because now it’s off to the Deaf Institute for…

Akoustik Anarchy were having a little shindig, which also featured Autokat and a Mike Joyce DJ-set. As I was tearing up the stairs I could hear ‘21-22’ in full effect so I didn’t mess around with guest lists, I just paid my fiver and hurried in. What I got was the sound of a band that is extremely con-fident in the music they are producing and are well aware that it rocks. They still seem slightly uncomfortable during the pauses between songs, of which there are many due to the numerous amounts of tunings guitarist Laurie goes through in a set. But this is part of the BTR charm and is in no way meant as a knock on their performance. As soon as ‘By The Sea’, ‘Misunderstood What You said’ or the instant classic ‘Pretend That You Play Guitar’ kicks in you know where they are coming from! Every time I see them they seem to show-case a new song, which suggests that they have come into their own creatively and have found their niche. Sonic Youth/Foals/Battles-esque alter-native rock, not too distorted/not too clean and just as intelligent as it is poppy. What more do you need? Check these guys out while it is still only a fiver!

Friends Of Mine have been at the forefront of Manchester’s live scene for a few years now, but this ambitious event probably takes them to the next level. 12 hours of live music across 5 stages. 70 or so bands. That’s some serious organisation needed, so kudos to FOM for de-livering.

I get to the pre-Academy gig drinking hole at 3 o’clock. Ten pound on the door - good value for the aforementioned stats. After a swift J20 for one of my 5-a-day, I begin on the Bitter, while the funk-fused The Unstoppable Team get people warmed up on the Bar Stage. Gently rapped lyrics over an unplugged set of indie-pop makes for an interesting mix this early on. I’d probably have to see them again and in full force to make an accurate opinion, but their tongue-in-cheek manner seems to go down well with those that have turned up so far.

Next up I wander over to the Acoustic Stage - a cosy corner of the main downstairs room with a small raised platform. The times have been managed so that, effectively, when the band on the Bar Stage finishes, the next acoustic act steps up here and vice-versa. Which means young indie solo artist Callum Roberts has full attention and nothing to drown out his take on the standard songs of going down the local boozer. Nice guitar work; some good ideas keeping the songs interesting and fresh, although lyrically it’s pretty run of the mill. A good voice nevertheless, and enough show-manship to suggest he could front a band with ease.

From here it’s back to the Bar Stage, and natu-rally the bar. She Blooms are on now, and I’m immediately drawn in. Very laid-back vibes, more akin to a Sunday afternoon than a Satur-day. In all honesty, this could be the soundtrack to any day. The lead vocalist/rhythm guitarist sings beautifully over relaxed jazz and original rhythm & blues wanderings. Very heartfelt tracks, backed by the singer being quite open in her feelings and inspiration behind each one. I

intended to speak to her to find out a bit more about the band but I didn’t get round to it. Anyway, I’m sure I’ll be see-ing this modern soul-based troop around soon enough.

Thanks to a mounting delay and a few tip-offs, I get to see Jo Rose take to the Acoustic Stage. I hadn’t been privy to Fear Of Music (his recent band that are no more); it seems like I missed something great there. And if his solo stuff is anything to go by, then that is no understatement. Softly-spoken and like a rabbit in headlights, yet as soon as he plays his first note that all changes. As-sured vocal waverings that in all honesty, shit on people like Conor Oberst and the ilk. Crafted lyrics and enchanting guitar work, Jo keeps his head down and eyes closed whilst reeling off some very warm-ing numbers. Another one I’ll be looking forward to seeing again.

As SC Assistant Editor Scott and my flatmate arrive, it’s 5.15pm. Which despite being surrounded by live music, means that it’s time to sit down and watch United. The soundtrack to some of which comes in the form of King Kayak at the nearby Bar Stage. Nicely put together indie-rock with glam-punk sand-wiched in. It’s good, but not enough to stand out too much and thus attention remains on the footy..

I nip upstairs for 15 minutes at half time to catch Op-tional Wallace on the Main Stage. An unfortunate slot to have been delayed to for a band with a few fellow Reds in, but nevertheless they crack on with their dark post-punk indie-rock. My first viewing of the band in full, and having a copy of last year’s EP, it’s safe to say that they back up the quality shown on there in their live performance. The songs are as big as expected, with ‘The Ladder’ sounding especially rambunctious. I said it when I reviewed their two-track, but fans of everything from Interpol to The Fall should embrace this.

Hanging about in the main room, we catch the start of The Witches. A cerebral-working arrangement of sonic fuzz and droning garage-rock. Something


(continued) maybe not quite new, but certainly fresh in a time where bands are trying to sound crystal clear. Mixing 70s glam punk with California surf and dragging this homebrewed blend into 2009, The Witches will certianly divide opinion, but from where I was standing, whether they were entertain-ing or not could not have been questioned.

Wandering upstairs in anticipation of the rather excellent headliners, we find things have been no-tably delayed further. We’re hanging about for nigh on two hours before The Jessie Rose Trip grace us with their soul-pop delights. Very feel-good, very up-beat, very excellent. With bodies moving freely - they prove worth the wait and bridge things nicely ahead of a quick reshuffle or the running order. Manches-ter’s current buzz band Kid British jump ahead of Mutineers and blast out their two-tone ska beats. They may well be the mainstream’s next forray into ska, and few could dispute whether it’d work. Using all the finest elements of The Specials with the MC abilities of De La Soul and just plain brilliant pop hooks. Busting out a fine arsenal of original material - as well as a splendid version of Madness’ ‘Our House’ - it’s no surprise to later learn of their big-name support slots and festival appearances planned for 2009.

It’s nearing 2am and after much ado, The Longcut take the stage to a still-packed Main Room - testa-ment to the commitment of their fanbase and the hype that still surrounds the trio 5 years after their first release. Playing a bunch of tracks of their new album due out later this year, that doesn’t stop peo-ple picking up on the unfamiliar dance-rock beats. Of course the more commonly-known numbers are greeted warmly too, but it’s a faultless set. The new stuff sounds great and those that wondered wheth-er they could do it again will have their doubts truly quashed. Prevented from doing an encore, a few of the favourites don’t get an airing, but that will only build excitement for when they’re back gigging again. In the meantime, it’s good to have them back.

So, 12 hours later, I’ve lost count of how many beers I’ve had or how many bands I’ve seen. All that mat-ters however, is that this was one fine day. Hats of to Friends Of Manchester. A wintery festival that brightened up the city and sent out the message that our music scene is as strong as ever.

“Oh Manchester, so much to answer for.” Given the state of the weather, it’s easy to see what Morrissey was getting at. The sky is grey, the rain is unrelent-ing and the cobbles of Market Street are a dirty, sodden brown. Fortunately the order of the day is Gideon Conn, whose childlike enthusiasm for mu-sic is as far removed from current weather as you could get.As soon as the enigmatic singer sets foot on stage you realise the Gideon Conn experience is some-thing wholly individual and separate from Man-chester’s other singer/songwriters. Conn’s thick spectacles and baggy, ill fitting shirt show go com-pletely against the grain. His Toadstool hat especial-ly, humours the crowd.The band chimes up; the music and Conn’s lazy, relaxed rapping evoke memories of A Tribe Called Quest’s 1st album, only the drum machines have been replaced with session musicians and instead of a gravelly MC from Harlem you have a quirky looking Jewish kid from Prestwich.‘Yes, No, Maybe’ introduces a trombone to the crowd, giving it a similar sound to Mark Ronson’s ‘Valerie’, only less annoying. The band is joined on-stage by two “dancers” dressed as Mario & Luigi. Combine this with Conn’s Toadstool hat and the performance feels like Nintendo Hip-Hop. Lovely stuff.However, it’s after this that things begin to take a turn. Gideon slows his songs down and by the time he is finished with the less hit more miss ‘The Man Who Drives Around Selling Fish’, he’s lost the audi-ence.Luckily ‘Wildfire’ is up next. The eerie guitar chords yank the onlookers back into the performance. “Money f***s money, so money is sexless,” raps Gideon as both trombone and trumpet kick in, creating a sound akin to that of Modest Mouse. The song is Transylvania folk, and it works.The set closes on ‘Eccentric’. Mario & Luigi are back on-stage and Gideon states that if anybody else wants to come up and sing backing vocals it’s “quite alright.”The crowd are dancing again and thanks to Gideon, all seems right with the world. If only the harsh weather had brightened up too. Manchester may have a lot to answer for in that sense, but if she keeps on producing acts like Gideon Conn, I’m sure we’ll be able to forgive her.


This is a proper album, it sounds crisp, clear and well produced. Which it should, because it was produced by Kurt Ballou somewhere in America. Before you even get down to this music, that is a pretty impres-sive boast if you are into that sort of thing. Which I am. The album kicks straight into the action with jams being pumped from the first nanosecond, those jams being poppy, hard rock, anthemic types akin to later days Metallica. In fact, I would describe The Freezing Fog to someone who hadn’t ever heard them as hav-ing the mainstream sound of Metallica or Nickelback but rocking, like, 50 times harder, although I reckon this is down to having similar influences rather than aping styles. The mix is excellent and sounds close to perfect bar from occasionally the drums dip a touch. The riffs are air tight and the pinch harmonics sound like they could slice through a brick. Although some-times the vocals can seem a bit generic occasionally, this is actually because you are probably taking for granted how good they are, they fit in with the rocky atmospherics but sometimes can be a bit too clean. The whole album plays like a retro jam off, It’s pretty difficult to pick stand out tracks as almost every track has the potential to be a breakout single except for that one that sounded very reminiscent of Fever Dog from Almost Famous. Retro rock with a production sheen that shows that The Freezing Fog are tipped for greatness. Also the cover art is absolutely fantastic. (Review by Dangerous Jamie - endlessbummer.wordpress.com)

FOR FANS OF : Black Sabbath, Metallica, Deep Purple.

A maniacal voice greets and welcomes you to the ‘Carnival Militia’, the debut album from New Mills/Manchester-based skacore 7-piece Stand Out Riot. Eerie and ominous, it sets the tone for a frivo-lous and frantic ride during the 8 brilliant tracks ahead.From the launch pad that is ‘Depthcharge’, the energy is unyielding – giving a fair insight to the live experience of SOR. Driving bass, clever guitar work, striking violin solos, a harmonic sax duo and percussion that will make you reach for your air-drumsticks. All of this conducted by lead vocal-ist/trombonist Francis Hunt putting an audible 110% into each breath. A very youthful band, but one with evident individual and collective talent beyond their years.Chaotic and relentless; it truly is like a circus in your ears. Only these coconuts aren’t shy, and the clowns aren’t clowning around. It’s ska-core at its finest, evoking memories of Capdown in their prime as well as the gypsy elements of Gogol Bor-dello et al.Highlights include the sterling ‘Playing With Hammers’, undeniable sing-along ‘Spacesuit’, as well as the much-improved reworkings of a few older numbers. Amongst which is the politically-charged ‘British Nazi Parade’, and as with the rest of the album, it proves that as fun as the music is, there’s messages and maturity in the mix.They may be young, but they might as well be gi-ants. Big sound for five pounds. Purchase today!Daniel Alston

FOR FANS OF : Streetlight Manifesto, Gogol Bordello, Capdown.

myspace.com/thefreezingfog myspace.com/standoutriot

This album really should carry a warning. If you’re besotted with music that tries to sound like it’s as present-day as possible, suffer from riffophobia or are generally just a little wuss, then this CD is not for you.I’ll admit, I’m a gambling man, but either way I’d con-fidently wager that there won’t be an album that rocks this much in the whole of 2009. If you like your music sturdy and substantial, riffs by the bucketload and the sound of no remorse, then this uncompro-mising piece of polycarbonate is sure to please.There aren’t many bands doing the Hard Rock thing these days, and certainly even fewer as well as these Salford gents (plus one from Hampshire). Someone once described them as ‘Like The Wildhearts and The Replacements jumping up and down on Bob Mould’s head’… That’s probably as accurate as you can get. Namechecks nailed to a tee; the influence of Ginger & co. is apparent throughout.‘Vaulted Sky’ and ‘Folie à Deux’ are short blasts of high-energy old school punk n’ roll, while tracks like ‘Recurrent Blockades’ and ‘The Age Of Common Sense’ could easily be considered ‘classic rock’ in years to come.Like an already rabid bull in a shop specialising in bright red china, ‘Putsch’ tears into the blandness and short lifespan of a lot of popular music today:“I don’t need lessons in truth/My truth is based on opinion/Ephemeral tastelessness/Overriding my own soundtrack”Album closer ‘Natura Naturans’ however, really does steal the show. The track itself is a haunting Metal-lica-esque number, but souped-up in production, it sounds as big as ‘Knights of Cydonia’ by Muse.A simply excellent album that deserves to get the ‘Cops rightful recognition. Not for the faint of heart, but instead for those seeking true rock music. Play this loud, as God intended! Daniel Alston

FOR FANS OF : The Wildhearts, Hüsker Dü, The Re-placements, Therapy?

Nu-Rave was all the, well… rave last summer and City Lights were obviously well into it! Mashed On Fashion seems to be a diary of that hedonistic summer of 2008. Getting ready to go out (”You’re dressed in Top Shop, right down to your socks”), going out (”danced like a bastard”), pulling girls (”You’re not my type, but it’s alright, you’re fit enough, so let’s dance all night”) and the inevitable regret waking up in the morning (”For every floor I slept on, there were far more tails to step on”) are all documented in this record. Though there are tints of reggae, Mashed On Fashion is Nu-Rave by numbers but the - typically Brit-ish - decrementing lyrics are instantly acces-sible. Everyone’s had the Mashed On Fashion weekend and everyone’s looking forward to going through it again. Does exactly what it says on the tin! Antony Scott Bray

FOR FANS OF : The Rapture, MGMT, Waking up saying “What was I thinking last night?”

want your album/ep reviewed on these pages?

email [email protected] for an address to send us a copy, and we’ll review it for the next issue.

all reviews also posted on www.secondcityuk.com

myspace.com/citylightsarecoming myspace.com/theshadowcops


THE FREEZING FOG

PHOTO : OLIVER GODBY secondcityuk.com | 27

Released in the fall, it’s taken us some time to get our hands on the debut album from the biggest thing in Bolton after Kevin Davies. You may have seen videos for stan-dout singles ‘Rex’ or ‘Sharkbone Symphony’ adorning your TV screen in the meantime.The fuzz-party-rock style evident in those two tracks runs rampant throughout the 10-track and makes for one hell of a ride overall.It’s as if Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and At The Drive-In are having a heated argument about their favourite Motorhead records. It’s the energy, tempo and all-round rock that those three bands embody, put togeth-er with a blessing of Seattle grunge.Rhys Bradley’s vocals are at their finest on ‘Rex’, letting loose in raucous fashion with pained shouts and rasping cries. In a good way though - this is after all rock n’ roll, no matter what the lyric sheet says. ‘Tycho’ is Pixies at their most emotive. ‘Cay Augustina’ and ‘Ginza Blackjacket’ are dis-tant relatives of Dinosaur Jr. Namechecks that aren’t being used in ex-agerration. There’s no reason why To The Bones can’t enjoy some degree of success, and that they can’t leave their own musical milestone behind with a few more albums under their belts.Already impressing the folks at BBC, NME and RockSound, the band should undoubt-edly be breaking out of Bolton anytime soon. The real question is whether the rest of the world is ready? Daniel Alston

FOR FANS OF : Pixies, Black Rebel Motorcy-cle Club, Nirvana.

I wasn’t familiar with Above Them until lead-off track “Heads And Hearts” played on shuffle on my iPod. Not usually the way I choose to review records but I didn’t recognize the …And None Of Them Knew They Were Robots song that was playing. When the vocals came in I guessed at Hot Water Music and had to check! After those thirty seconds I knew I was going to be hooked on this record! Fluctuating between half and straight time in a fashion familiar to Biffy Clyro fans “H&H” is a beau-tifully constructed Alt-Pop song that sets the scene for the rest of the EP. Musically the numerous parts keep you intrigued while the vocal hooks and har-monies give you a feeling of familiarity and stick in your head for days. “Listen to the sound” they sing on stand out track “The Sound” and if it’s the sound of Above Them that’s definitely good advice. Antony Scott Bray

FOR FANS OF : Biffy, Sunny Day Real Estate, Texas Is The Reason.

myspace.com/abovethem

myspace.com/tothebones

THE FREEZING FOG

i) How excited are you about the release of your sophomore album? And for it to be on Eyes of Sound no less?Suffi ce to say we are excited about our new release and it is a pleasure to be working with the excellent Eyes Of Sound. We feel that this album is a really good representation of where we are right now in our musical journey. A lot the ideas that have formed the songs on this album have been a long time in writing and therefore it is exciting to put them out there for people to digest. Hooking up with Eyes Of Sound has just been a dream as Ryan is a top lad and has our best interests at heart. David Geffen came in at the last minute but the fi nancial package put forward by Ryan was far superior.

ii) There were themes of wiz-ardry and medieval adventures on ‘March Forth to Victory’. Do these

themes carry over onto ‘The Freezing Fog’, or have you gone in a different direction?James defi nitely seemed to have a different agenda on this one, although the issues presented often manifest themselves in some form of quest or journey so that is still present in droves. Wizards are pretty awesome and so are medieval adventures so we have not totally dropped all that but more personal and spiritual themes have crept onto this album. But in all honesty, who knows what goes on in james Longsden’s head. It is like a magical treasure trove.

iii) The artwork’s pretty nuts! What’s the story there?Well we just gave Drew Millward the CD, told him to get on with it and that is what he came up with. We bloody love it!

iv) For the uninitiated, what can people expect from a live per-formance from T’Fog?Well in the live arena we like to let our hair down a little bit. Serious moves are thrown; Dave pulls off

dance moves akin to Jamiroquai and slaps his bass like there is no tomorrow. The vibe is positive and the rock is classic at all times. We encourage crowd participation and sword fi ghts.

v) You’ve had a bit of hype from RockSound et al of late. What are your plans for 2009?Yeah Rock Sound have been really supportive by doing a couple of features and also putting a song on their covermount CD. Which is great as we feel Rock Sound is a very good magiazine in that it fairly covers most genres of rock /metal and alternative music. In 2009 we plan to write and record more mu-sic, do a little tour with our friends Manatees which we hope to take to Europe also, and generally carry on in the same vein as 2008 with a quest to distill rock in it’s purest form.‘The Freezing Fog’ is out now on LP and CD formats. Read our review on page 25!myspace.com/thefreezingfog

MANCHESTER’S MEDIEVAL VOYAGERS UNLEASH ALBUM

NUMBER TWO.

PHOTO : OLIVER GODBY


Hit & Run is an unfortunately common

crime; a felony that carries a strong

punishment. It’s also the unoffi cial HQ

for all things Drum & Bass, Hip-Hop

and Dubstep in Manchester, so thank-

fully, this is a look at the latter.

Mixing diverse genres as these with all

their different off-shoots is no easy task.

Neither is packing out whichever venue

they call home on a weekly basis. But the

H&R team sure seem to know what they’re

doing.

“Hit & Run started in Oxford almost 8 years

ago and moved to Manchester in 2006

where it ran at PoNaNa, After the bar shut

down in 2007, The Attic on Oxford Road

was our new home until a horrible sound

limiter was installed. In September 2008

Hit & Run started up at The Mint Lounge

where it’s on every Monday.”

And since then, things have gone from

strength to strength...

WHAT’S THE BEST WAY TO START A WEEK?SECOND CITY TAKE A LOOK AT THE COLLECTIVEPUTTING MONDAY NIGHTS BACK ON THE SOCIAL CALENDAR...


A few different locations in a short

space of time hasn’t hindered the

night from becoming one of Man-

chester’s most talked about evening

socials. And by hosting big-name DJs

and MCs, each one is different.

Personal highlights so far from Alex

read like a list of who’s who in the

fi eld today.

“Boxcutter Live, Alix Perez, Calibre, D-

Bridge, Jazzsteppah, Marcus Intalex

& DRS… they were all excellent. Es-

sentially though, it’s all about very

good music, the best in fact. Drum

and Bass, Hip Hop, Dub Step, Breaks,

Dub and even the odd bit of Punk.”

Recently a few new nights sprung out

of the H&R mobile. With it’s reputation

as one of the most original nights al-

ready, the Smirnoff-endorsed events

that followed called ‘Take The Money

& Run’ used technology never seen before in a clubnight environ-ment.

“Take The Money & Run came about because we were lucky enough to win a generous bur-sary from Smirnoff. The name had to be changed to “take the money” because a Smirnoff sponsored night called Hit & Run might not have been the most PR savvy move. We had a huge line-up across 3 rooms and a pretty ambitious visual project involv-ing Infrared tags and tracking software. I’d love to say that all the new technology worked per-fectly...so I will.”

The Oxford branch of Hit & Run is closed temporarily. Founder Riz MC - he of the controverial and almost entirely-banned song ‘Post 9/11 Blues’ - used his own night to give himself a platform to success. A method the likes of


Tonn Piper and co. have been utilising to

maximum effect thus far up north.

Evidently passionate about the music

they promote, things look to be continu-

ing to fl ourish for the crew in the new

year.

“We’ve hopefully got some more nights

vs. Riot Jazz and continued fun on a

Monday. Hit & Run TV should be slowly

appearing over the next few months, it’s

basically a weekly re-cap of the events

with a bit of a mix.”

www.hitandrunuk.com

myspace.com/hitrunpromotions

All nights 9pm-3am at Mint Lounge, Old-

ham Street. With resident DJs/MCs Rich

Reason, Al Sonar, Tonn Piper, Jonny Dub

and MC Chunky. £1.80 drinks all night and

Jamaican food available.

At the time of going to print, line-ups for March and April events were un-confi rmed, but to give you an idea of what you get for your dollar, here’s a look at what was in store for the fi rst Hit & Run nights of 2009...

Monday February 2nd, with Brookes Bros (Breakbeat Kaos), Sabre (Ape/Dawn Raid), James G (UMDNB) and DJ W. The back room is hosted by Bass Camp, with Ken Evil (Ape/Drummu-sic), Longshot DJs and Indra. £6 en-try/£5 NUS.

Monday 9th February - Metropo-lis Vs Hit&Run. 3-deck set with I.D. from Friction as well as Sukh Knight (B2B), Scandalous Unltd. and Proph-ecy. Room 2 hosts True Tiger & Sukh Knight’s ‘Cheese Loueez EP’ launch party, with Sukh Knight, Scandalous Unltd., DJ Messiah, Blue Bear and The Steppahs. Entry £7 tickets, more on the the door.

MONDAYSevery monday : revolver @ the roadhouse - 60s garage, rock n’ roll, motown, 60s pop and northern soul. 11pm-3am, £3/4.hit & run - mint lounge - hip-hop, drum n’ bass, dubstep.

TUESDAYSevery tuesday :sex with robots @ the roadhouse - electro, rave and big beats. 11pm-3am, £FREE.missionary @ subspace - electronica, drum and bass, hip hop. 10pm-3am, £4/5.tues 10th + 24th march and tues14th + 28th aprils’il vous plait @ night & day - alternative pop and disco. 10.30pm-late, £FREE.

WEDNESDAYSevery wednesday :now wave @ the deaf institute - electro and indie rave. 10pm-3am, £5.weds 25th march and weds 29th april :busk @ the garratt - open mic night. 9pm-1am, £FREE.

THURSDAYSthurs 4th march :cassetrio @ joshua brooks - 90s hip-hop, dance and pop. 10pm-3am, £4 tickets or on the door.powwow @ retro bar - alternative, indie and electro. 10pm-2am, £3.


CLUBNIGHT LISTINGSTIRED OF ALWAYS ENDING UP IN THE SAME CLUB, WITH THE SAME SONGS? THEN TRY SOME OF THESE ON FOR SIZE...

FRIDAYSevery friday :risk it for a biscuit! @ odd bar - disco, funk, punk and new wave. £FREE. fri 13th march :club clique @ mint lounge - indie and electro. 10pm-3am, £5/6.micron @ spektrum - house, techno and rave. 10pm-5am, £8/9.fri 27th march :hot club @ deaf institute - electro, indie, dance, with live bands and DJs. £TBC.fri 3rd april :disco (un)obscure @ retro bar - rock n’ roll, punk, blues. 10pm-3am, £TBC.

SATURDAYSevery saturday :shoplifters @ bar odder - remixes, covers and stolen genius. 9pm-3am, £FREE.across the tracks @ subspace - funk, soul and disco. 10.30pm-3am. £FREE/4/5.saturdays @ joshua brooks - different dj’s every week. house, techno and electro. advanced tickets on skiddle.com.sat 7th + 21st march and 4th + 18th april :contort yourself @ the roadhouse - electro, punk-funk and dance. 11pm-3am, £TBC.sat 21st march :rock n’ roll hellkats @ retro bar - psychobilly, rockabilly, punk and r n’r.

SUNDAYSevery sunday :rolling sunday revue @ the ram & shackle - folk, blues, acoustic and open mic. 5pm onwards, £FREE.sun 1st march + sun 5th april :your mama’s cookin’ @ odd bar - rockabilly and early r n’b. 8pm-12.30am, £FREE.



A WINNING FORMULA

As iconic post-punkers Magazine reform after nearly three decades out of action, keyboardist Dave Formula talks to Second City about his career thus far...

“It just feels right - we wouldn’t be doing

it otherwise”

With reformations all the rage at the minute, critics are quick to laud such acts as ploys by cash-hungry bands wanting another taste of their peak mo-ment. Few however, could argue that Magazine are just doing this for the money. A band that are often cited as being pioneers and ‘ahead of their time’; even they were shocked by the response to their announcement of a tour.28 years after they last hit the road.

“Initially we were just going to do 2 shows,” explains mem-ber Dave Formula, “but they sold out so quickly that the tour sprung from there. Are we going to do anything after-wards? It depends. I think every-

single ‘Shot By Both Sides’.

“There’s a generation gone by at least since then. It’s been a bloody long time. It came about in a really natural way though. I’ve been working on an album of my own for the last couple of years, and I asked all three remaining members of Maga-zine to play on different tracks of it, which they did. It all built up; it felt almost pre-destined. It wasn’t like someone rang up offering such an amount of money – that wasn’t the reason for doing this. If we hadn’t had that gradual easing into each other’s lives again, it might not have happened.”

-one’s very open-minded about it, but for all of us – Howard in par-ticular - we’re thinking ‘let’s just see how it goes fi rst’. After such a long time, you’ve just got to do it. But it would be stupid to put a year’s worth of work in follow-ing these dates and commit to it and sign contracts and then not be sure about it. It does feel right at the moment though – we wouldn’t be doing it otherwise.”

Magazine, for the unaware, are a band formed in Manchester by Howard Devoto - ex-singer for Buzzcocks. They enjoyed cult-like success in their short years (‘77-’81) and are probably best known for their Top Of The Pops-approved


So after the band split up, what did Dave do? Well, relentless stints touring with ever-changing projects certainly passed the time.

As well as his solo work and Maga-zine, he has been in notable bands such as 60s Rhythm & Blues ensemble St. Louis Union, New Romantic group Visage, toured Japan with a complete-ly improvised Jazz band and worked with a staggering array of greats. A career in music so well-spent, even the man himself struggles to pick a high-light.

“I’ve been doing this a long time now! Magazine has to be very high on the list, naturally. When we were 16 my band were practically the house band at The Twisted Wheel. Rod Stewart used to play there and one time his band couldn’t make it, so we got asked to play with him. He was really great back then.

“When I was about 21-22, I worked with Jimmy Ruffi n for two years. I

reputation very quickly, at a time when London didn’t need another studio. People thought we were mad at the time.”

Possibly the same people that questioned Magazine back in the day. A band that are always cited, but didn’t gain the suc-cess that others did.

“It is nice to be cited, but I think music moves with lots of peo-ple all doing slightly different variations and all trying to do new stuff, and if you’re part of that, it’s enough.”

put his band together and it was a great experience for me. Just before Magazine, I was with a band called Giro doing jazz-funk stuff, and the singer went on to be in Mike & The Mechanics. He had a great voice. “

Shortly after Magazine split, he turned his hand to recording and producing - something that re-mains a big part of his life today.

“I’d made some money from Vis-age so I built a recording studio in London with another guy. It was in a desolate area where property was dirt cheap. In the fi rst year we had recorded Nico from The Vel-vet Underground, the fi rst House-martins album, the fi rst Erasure album and lots of other stuff. We estab-lished a

A defi nitive Magazine double compilation - ‘Touch and Go’ - is out now on Virgin Records in CD and download formats. A single CD of restored and remastered, previously unreleased live recordings from 1979-80 - ‘Live and Intermittent’ - is also available, but only from : www.wire-sound.com.

Initially when I set about writing this article the Russian government had just announced its intentions to ban Emo Music, Fashion and Culture saying it was a “danger-ous teen trend, which promotes anti-social be-havior, depression, social withdrawal and even suicide.” So I will take a look at the history of the music scene that’s so ‘Punk Rock’ govern-ments want it banned! Though as a scene Emo began in America in the early 1980’s the roots were sprouted right here in Manchester during the Punk Rock movement of the 70’s (I know this article’s called Finding Emo not Finding Ego but bear with me). Punk rock was a reaction-ary music, a sign of the times! That was why it was such a short-lived phenomena, when the times began to change, so to did the music. While the Pistols were singing about anarchy and the Clash were singing about change The Buzzcocks were singing “Ever Fallen In Love?” and other songs about love, insecurity, and similar timeless Emo-tions. Shortly thereafter Joy Division would bring an even more intro-spective view to New Wave! As a genre in itself it’s tough to pin down where Emo actually began but there are three incidents that seem to stand out as cata-lysts; Minor Threat release Salad Days

and break-up in 1983 leaving the DC Hardcore scene to run out of steam without it’s spiritual leaders; Husker Du release Zen Arcade in 1984 and showcase their new ‘mature’ sound with slower tempo’s and more complex song-writing; Rites Of Spring form in 1985, musically they feature traits of Hardcore but singer Guy Picci-otto wails personal lyrics into the microphone seem-ingly out of desperation! What is safe to say is the fi rst phase of Emo, dubbed Emo-core, peaked in 1985 during a phase known as “Revolution Summer”. All the DC Hardcore bands began splitting up and the members formed new bands with each other. Realising they didn’t have to sound like Punk anymore and tiring of Hardcore’s limits, the bands began writing songs that were less aggressive, more mid-tempo with College-Rock sound-ing jangly guitars and hooks. The term Emo was coined around this time, during a Flipside interview with ei-ther MacKaye or Piccioto (reports vary), it gave a more universal name to the DC sound. Dischord Records put out most of the fi rst wave of Emo records by the likes of Rites of Spring and Embrace, the lifespan of early Emo bands was very short and there was a tendency towards vinyl. Later bands like Samiam, Jawbreaker and Hot Water Music became practitioners of this ear-liest form of Emo. Moss Icon were one of the fi rst full-on Emo bands. Stylistically the quiet parts of their songs were barely audible, often very repetitive, almost hypnotic, arpeggiated chords that tended to be played with backs to the audience. When the chorus’ broke the gui-tars would go up to eleven and the musicians would throw themselves around the stage uncontrollably. This style was often based around crescendos and taking the audience on a journey using tension and release. Some of the songs would be so epic that they incited tears from band or the audience..Hoover and Evergreen were other popular Emo bands of the time.Much like Punk became more exaggerated with Hard-core Punk, Hardcore Emo pushed the boundaries of Emo. Bands like Heroin and Reach Out were so over the top that songs would often be unrecognizable at shows!

A genre greatly misconstrued and wrongly

attributed. Second City goes back to the beginning

and explains the roots of ‘emo’...

- ANTONY SCOTT BRAY -

Rites Of Spring – Rites Of Spring (Dischord), 1985While he was in Embrace, Ian McKaye’s Dischord label released this from future Fugazi bandmates Picciotto and Canty. Dubbed Emo-core as a slight by the Hardcore community It was more inspirational than it was successful. Borrow ‘Hains Point’ from the Internet

RECOMENDS...

Sunny Day Real Estate – Diary (Sub Pop), 1994Having peaked with the Grunge movement in the early 90’s, Sub Pop released ‘Diary’. Showing a new direction for the label it shared the lyrical content of Grunge albeit mellower and more introspective as opposed to ag-gressive and reactionary. Borrow ‘In Circles’ from the Internet.

Thursday – Full Col-lapse (Island/Def Jam), 2001

Taking infl uence from ATDI and fellow Jersey natives Lifetime (This band is amazing – ASB), Thursday introduced a more call and respon-sive style of Emo called Screamo to the mainstream. The nice clean sensitive moments give way to almost Metal-heavy riffs that are accompanied by lyrics desperately screamed into the microphone. Borrow ‘Understanding In A Car Crash’ from the Internet

Weezer - “The Blue Album (Gef-fen), 1994Weezer’s breakthrough album, and still their most successful to date. Picked up by Geffen as they searched for Alternative Rock bands amidst the Grunge, Rivers Cuomo & co. wrote songs about heartbreak and tragedy that were lapped up by MTV. Borrow ‘Buddy Holly’ from the Internet.

My Chemical Ro-mance – 3 Cheers For Sweet Revenge (Re-prise), 2004. Replacing Slipknot as the most dangerous band on the planet, MCR sported a gothic look and spoke openly about unhap-py childhood, physical and mental abuse as well as self-harm. Borrow ‘I’m Not Okay (I Promise)’ from the Internet

The underground success of bands like Fugazi and Quicksand created a lot of doppelgangers in the Emo scene so when Sunny Day Real Estate released Diary in 1994 it was like a breath of fresh air. Incorporating elements of Indie rock and slightly off key vocals, Diary was very radio friendly and paved the way for Emo’s mainstream breakthrough. After the Grunge movement MTV embraced underground music, call-ing it Alternative music. All music of a similar ilk got fi led under Pop-Punk at the time, though record labels like Jade Tree and Deep Elm kept fl ying the Emo fl ag fl ying. Bands like The Get Up Kids, The Promise Ring, Cap’n Jazz and Jimmy Eat found international success. Almost as a backlash to “IndiEmo” bands like Thursday, Glassjaw and Thrice went back to Emo’s roots with an offshoot called Screamo. Then just when Emo music seemed to peak, with My Chemical Ro-mance scoring a No.1 album, a teenage fan called Hannah Bond was found to have hung herself. Her mother, Heather, ac-cused MCR singer Gerard Way of encour-aging her death with his music. The me-dia’s portrayal of Emo fans (see Hollyoaks) as sad, unsociable individuals have caused a backlash against Emo culture, resulting in anti-Emo attacks being reported in England, America, Russia and Mexico! As anyone who has attended such a show can attest, the sense of com-munity and support within the local scene is strong but the media continues to put the wrong ideas in people’s heads! Grab yourself an SG and a Marshall JCM800 in-stead of moping around feeling sorry for yourself! Do people that have a tendency to self-harm and/or commit suicide listen to Emo? Probably! Do people who listen to Emo have a tendency to self harm? Well I’ll leave that one to you ;)


WE QUIZ renouned author and ex-hacienda dj dave haslamon the his career, the 70s and the madchester era...


1) Your last book came out in 2005. What have you been up to since then? I had a weekly show on XFM from March 06 to June 08. I’ve done some freelance writing in The Guardian and New States-man. I’ve been lecturing at the Uni of Salford, and MMU, and I’ve been DJing a lot; in the last month or two I’ve played in Paris, Ber-lin and last May I did two nights in Peru. This Summer I’m organ-ising and hosting some events for the Manchester International Festival. Can’t complain about my life. I enjoy my ‘work’.2) Where has been your favourite place/occasion to DJ? Loads. Playing before the Stone Roses at their gig at Blackpool in 1989 was very special. The special warehouse party organised to shoot all the Hacienda footage for ‘Twenty Four Hour Party People’ was amazing, very surreal; 1000 people in a fake Hacienda! 3) Was that film a fair representation of the Madchester era? It’s not 100% accurate historically - in fact, it’s not even 50% accurate - but I guess it captures the spirit of it. I think the early parts of the film work best - the Joy Division stuff.4) Did the Hacienda closure change things, or did it shut at the right time? I think the city and the Manchester scene was defi-nitely ready to move on by ‘97. It had been at the forefront of various eras; but by the mid-90s it had lost its charm and unique-ness.5) What would you class as your proudest career moment(s)? Probably the publication of my first book, ‘Manchester England’. I’d taken five years to write it, and what could have been a very throwaway book just about ‘Madchester’, ended-up being about so much else; the history, the politics, the recent ‘regeneration’ etc. I got such great feedback from readers. It felt totally worth-while.6) Any low points? Well, it was hard bring involved in clubs in the early 1990s with the violence and the gangs. I got assaulted a few times, once quite badly, and gang-related nutters used to issue death threats and stuff but I believed in the music, so I just ploughed on through, hoping that the gangs would just fuck off.7) Favourite city (other than Manchester!)? Paris. I’ve DJ’d there about twenty times and have met some great people and had some amazing nights. 8 ) What are your top 3 films? And top 3 albums? Films; Buffalo 66, Les Quatre Cents Coups, Stranger Than Paradise. Albums; Un-known Pleasures (Joy Division), EVOL (Sonic Youth), BlueLines (Massive Attack)9) If we saw you in a pub, what should we buy you? A packet of chilli-flavoured crisps and a glass of champagne.

10) What new bands do you like at the mo-ment? Locally, I like Airship, Everything Every-thing, Delphic, and Run Toto Run. Other stuff floating my boat - Fujiya & Miyagi, and any-thing from the Sonar Kollectiv label. 11) What would you ask God? I’d ask her why she thinks everyone assumes she’s a man.12) What advice would you give to a young Dave Haslam? I’d quote Morrissey; “There’s more to life than books, you know, but not much more.”13) Do you have a guilty pleasure track?The Real Thing ‘You To Me Are Everything’. I know all the words and it’s my karaoke tune.14) What would you have done if you didn’t get into music and writing? No idea! Maybe run a secondhand bookshop somewhere and live off coffee and cake. I’d be happy with that.15) You’ve written quite a bit about the 70s. What are your fondest memories of that par-ticular decade? Seeing some great gigs - the Clash, Blondie, Joy Division, the Pop Group, and the Gang of Four. And going on Rock Against Racism marches with thousands of other people and seeing black and white unite.16) What are the ingredients to your ideal Full English? I don’t eat meat, so I my favourite cooked breakfast is eggs florentine (poached eggs, spinach, and a spoonful of hollandaise sauce on a toasted English muffin coverered with freshly milled pepper). With sparkling water. Followed by fresh coffee.17) After all the recent bands reforming of late, who would you mostlike to see get back together for one last tour? New Order.18) If there was a movie made of your life, what song would be playing over the flash-back-montage scene? Massive Attack ‘Unfin-ished Sympathy’19) What are your plans for 2009? Sell some of my vinyl on eBay. Do more writing. Update my website.


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issue 3

Documents

city magazine

fair city

dave formula of magazine

local rockers

alternative music

local traders

varying types of music

rockers england